Drug Courts

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Specialized courts have been instrumental in deviating the impact of overpopulated and taxed prison systems. Accordingly, they provide an environment that allows drug abusers to correct their behavior and lessen recidivism for similar crimes (Drug Courts, n.d.). The advantage of having a drug courts improve the treatment an offender gets and allows them to take charge over the positive changes in their day-to-day lives. The National Institute of Justice has found that recidivism rates drop significantly around 17%-26% depending of the programs used and assignment of judges over the length of time done (Do Drug Courts Work? Findings From Drug Court Research, n.d.). Moreover, the benefits of a concentrated effort by judges, communities, services and care providers increase a positive outcome. Where incarceration has failed in rehabilitation efforts, the drug court has …show more content…
Previous to drug courts, an offender would be sentenced and become incarcerated without the judge knowing what happened to the offender unless they came back through the court system. A judge and the team that provides services to rehabilitate and address underlining issues of the offender’s crime have oversight while maintaining the monitoring offender’s actions. The drug court provides solutions for offenders instead of punishments that don’t change or offer change to behaviors. According to the National Institute of Justice, the success of drug courts relies on the interaction of the judge, proper assessment of treatment and dedicated staff (Do Drug Courts Work? Findings From Drug Court Research, n.d.). According to the New York State Unified Court System, drug courts have had 85,415 participants and 38,185 have graduated. They also state that the use of drug courts have enabled participants to have 833 babies born drug free since August 1, 2014 (Drug Treatment Courts,

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