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The effects of drug courts
Drug courts and the criminal justice system
Drug courts and the criminal justice system
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Observation There was mostly females in the family drug court, and most of the cases involving drugs in Sherman deals with methamphetamine. The judge has a great deal of control, primarily because he is on a payroll. Graduations in this drug court are generally a big deal and are often elaborate, with the use of plaques to symbolize their achievement. As far as Sanctions are concerned, they vary case to case, however, they typically involve writing a letter or community service. What I Learned Sherman Family Drug Court has moral recognition therapy, anger management, and parenting classes and of course, there are frequent drug tests. Moreover, the court even assists parents with finding jobs and requires the parent to be working on a GED
The applicant Mr. Arthur Hutchinson was born in 1941. In October 1983, he broke into a house, murdered a man, his wife and their adult son. Then he repeatedly raped their 18-year old daughter, having first dragged her past her father’s body. After several weeks, he was arrested by the police and chargedwith the offences. During the trial he refused to accept the offence and pleaded for innocence. He denied accepting the killings and sex with the younger daughter.
The complex issues of dealing with offenders in the criminal justice system has been a point of ongoing controversy, particularly in the arena of sentencing. In one camp there are those who believe offenders should be punished to the full extent of the law, while others advocate a more rehabilitative approach. The balancing act of max punishment for crimes committed, and rehabilitating the offender for reintegration into society has produced varying philosophies. With the emanation of drug-induced crimes over the past few decades, the concept of drug treatment courts has emerged. The premise of these courts is to offer a “treatment based alternative to prison,” which consist of intensive treatment services, random drug testing, incentives
Within our society, there is a gleaming stigma against the drug addicted. We have been taught to believe that if someone uses drugs and commits a crime they should be locked away and shunned for their lifetime. Their past continues to haunt them, even if they have changed their old addictive ways. Everyone deserves a second chance at life, so why do we outcast someone who struggles with this horrible disease? Drug addiction and crime can destroy lives and rip apart families. Drug courts give individuals an opportunity to repair the wreckage of their past and mend what was once lost. Throughout this paper, I will demonstrate why drug courts are more beneficial to an addict than lengthy prison sentences.
There are numerous community based corrections programs available in the juvenile justice system such as: drug court or substance abuse treatment, mentoring, independent living transition services, community service, mediation or restitution, group home placement, functional family therapy, job training or work programs, Electronic Monitoring System or Global Positioning System,
The BCDTC experienced a great achievement as the program is reduced criminal offending in a population of drug-addicted chronic offenders. What is more? The program appears to have been successful at establishing a credible threat of future punishment for the drug court clients, and sanctions for noncompliance. Gottfredson and Exum Claim that “BCDTC received harsher sentences as a result of their initial arrest than did the control study participants, both in terms of incarceration and probation sentences” (2002). Both circuit and district court especially the circuit court are found to be successful at imposing a threat of future incarceration. On the other side of the coin, the Program fails to differentiate between in-program recidivism and post-program recidivism. Post program client’s behavior might be different from client behavior during intensive supervision and this might cause an overlap in behavior. Reducing criminal activity is clearly a
What is Drug Court? According to Siegel (2013), drug courts are courts designed for non-violent offenders with substance abuse problems who require integrated sanctions and services such as mandatory drug testing, substance abuse treatment, supervised release, and parole. These courts are designed to help reduce housing nonviolent offenders with violent inmates. Drug courts work on a non-adversarial, coact approach.
Crack is the name given to cocaine that has been transformed into a condensed, more pure, rock form that can be smoked. It is the most addictive form of cocaine due to a higher potency level than the typical batch of street cocaine. Crack cocaine has often been referred to as a ‘soul drug’ because it has a tendency to rob its victims of everything including money, family, morals, and even life itself. Furthermore, it is possible to become addicted to crack cocaine from the very first time it is used, creating a vortex of misery for those who come into contact with it. Compared to other drugs, crack cocaine has a rather short history in America since it was only introduced the 1980’s. However, within this short period, Crack cocaine
Is Prohibition (defined as a government decree against the exchange of a good or service) actually successful in reducing recreational drug consumption and drug-related violence? This is the question that will be analyzed in this paper. Drug enforcement officials frequently cite drug-related violence as a reason that drugs must be eliminated from our society. A contrary belief is that the system of drug prohibition actually causes most of the violence. Similar to alcohol prohibition in the 1920s and the rise of organized crime, drug prohibition inspires a dangerous underground market that manifests itself with violent crime throughout the U.S. and, in fact, the world. The illegal nature of drugs has significantly increased the price and the
“The fact that war is the word we use for almost everything—on terrorism, drugs, even poverty—has certainly helped to desensitize us to its invocation; if we wage wars on everything, how bad can they be?”- Glenn Greenwald. The use of drugs through out the United States has gotten worse and worse every year, and I know that in the U.S. it is both a health problem and a crime problem. But I feel like that we should treat the abuse of illegal drugs as a matter of public health. It should be treated as a matter of public health over a matter of criminal justice because we can help people that abuse drugs and are addicted. Also well be able to get their lives on track so they won’t have to use drugs again which makes dealers go away because no one is buying their drugs anymore.” The origins and nature of the appeal of anti drug claims must be confronted if we are ever to understand how “drug problems” are constructed in the U.S.”(pg.92) –The Social Construction of Drug Scares
The purpose of Drug Court is to address addiction/ substance use problems of criminal defendants through an intense supervision treatment program and develop productive, healthy members of society, rather than criminals. Offenders who remain incarcerated may or may not get the help or intervention they need. In many cases, the help they do receive is often limited depending on the facility or jurisdiction they are in. However, more and more correctional facilities are focusing on addiction and substance use and abuse rehabilitation and treatment programs. An excellent example of a program in a correctional facility and something, a tool, that Drug Court uses as a sanction is a program at Henrico County’s Jail East called
The United States Drug Policy evolved after the 1900s when laws dictating drug abuse became prevalent. The targeted audience for the War on Drugs was aimed at helping the upper-class citizens and not the lower-class citizens which ultimately caused the government to become hypocrites. The United States War on Drug Policy was supposed to help America as a whole and not select classes. The supply of drugs entering into the United States did not seem to be affected after numerous different strategies were instilled by different presidents and government officials. Without a successful strategy to end the spread of drug usage we as a country have lost the War on Drugs. An unintended consequence from the United States drug policies to thwart drug
In 1988, Father Greg Boyle made a commitment to help at-risk gang members’ change their criminal ways. Through program he developed, Homeboy Industries, gang members were offered legal jobs in order to become functional members of society. Father Greg felt that if these gang-affiliated individuals could have some alternate opportunity, they could turn their life around and end their criminal behavior. Since 1988, Father Greg has enhanced and re-developed the structure of the program, but it has definitely been a success story for many Los Angeles gang members. Father Greg was right. The control theory suggests that if individuals are raised in good morals and granted opportunities and legal paths to success (external controls), they will develop the internal controls that they use to avoid criminal behavior (Traub & Little, 1999, p. 303).
Substance addiction is becoming an epidemic. While some people can quit using a substance without any help, most people need help to their recovery. Narcotics anonymous is an important support group for our society. There are many different narcotic anonymous programs to join that have meetings throughout the week. The members of the support group all share one thing in common, they suffer from different types of chemical dependency. Members help each other because they have the same problems and worries that everyone in the room has. Though they may be struggling with different stages in their life, for the most part, they all relate to what each is going through. Just as AA, NA focuses on the 12-step program. The members of
The drug control policy of the United States has always been a subject of debate. From Prohibition in the early 1930’s to the current debate over the legalization of marijuana, drugs have always been near the top of the government’s agenda. Drug use affects every part of our society. It strains our economy, our healthcare, our criminal justice systems, and it endangers the futures of young people. In order to support a public health approach to drug control, the Obama administration has committed over $10 billion to drug education programs and support for expanding access to drug treatment for addicts (Office). The United States should commit more government resources to protect against illegal use of drugs by youths and provide help for recovering addicts.
...rimes combined. Harsh sentencing are being given to drug possessions. It is a fact that first time offenders to non violent arrests of drugs receive a mandatory of 5 years without parole in prison and 10 depending the size of drugs involved.