Benefits Of Drug Courts

The Benefits of Drug Courts

Right now in the United States there are over 2 million people incarcerated in the country’s prisons and jails. Out of this population about one-quarter of these inmates have been convicted of a drug offense. With drug offense arrests increasing nationwide and the prison population increasing there is an alternative to incarceration has been used over the past two decades in many cities across the country. This alternative is in the form of local drug courts that are now found in most major cities in the United States. A drug court is a specialized court in which the judge, prosecutor, public defender or private attorney, probation officers, and treatment counselors work together to help chemically dependent offenders obtain needed treatment and rehabilitation in an attempt to break the cycle of addiction and further criminal offenses. Some argue that treatment rather than incarceration is a waste of time and valuable resources that could be used elsewhere. Research however has shown that court ordered treatment is the best option for drug offenders. Treatments through drug court has proven to be less expensive than incarceration and has also been shown to reduce crime and provide a lower relapse and re-arrest rate for offenders that are placed in drug courts as opposed to those that are not.

There are individuals who oppose the use of drug courts. These people argue that by letting drug offenders avoid incarceration the justice system is doing nothing more than giving offenders an easier punishment for their crimes. Some people feel that over the long term treatment will cost more than sending the offender to prison to pay their debt to society. There are those that feel that treatment not wa...

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...ing my mother to sleep at night without worrying for my life. There is no method of calculating the value of the peace of mind that members of my community enjoy now that I am no longer a threat to them. I owe drug court my life and feel a resolve to work for the rest of it to pay back that debt.” (E., Logan, 2014).

In conclusion, it has been shown that drug courts are beneficial to both drug addicts and to our society. Too many addicts and their family’s drug court represent the foundation of a new, healthy, and productive life. Drug courts benefit the community by providing structure to non-violent drug offenders and a chance to rebuild their lives. Although there are arguments against the value or effectiveness of drug courts, the benefits that they provide are undeniable, and as the system uses drug court the benefits will only increase for everyone involved.