Drug Courts and Recidivism - Essay Example

The Drug Court had been born. Since the early 1990's when drug courts became the preferred methodology of treating the offender while reducing the incidence of drug related crimes, much of the research has stated the benefits of drug courts in reducing recidivism. Many individual courts have published results of reduced recidivism since its implementation. Determining the extent of the recidivism reduction because of participation in drug court is the focus of this research paper. Examining the recidivism rate nationally and comparing these figures to the recidivism rate nationally for drug court participants will show a significant reduction due to drug court participation.

This research will discover any regional variation and offer direction for future research while benchmarking current success. During the 1970's and 1980's the Criminal Justice System had moved from a more rehabilitative model to a punitive philosophy. "Between 1980 and 1993, American prison and jail populations tripled, much of the increase due to the increased number of drug convictions and longer sentences for drug offenses" (Armstrong 2003, p. 138). In 1994 alone drug trafficking and conviction accounted for 31.

4% of felony convictions nationwide (12.5% for possession and 19% for trafficking). Further, between 1980 and 1989 arrest for drug offenses rose 134% (Armstrong 2003,