Using Drug Courts as a Diversion Strategy - Essay Example

The fields of criminal justice and drug offenders’ treatment are getting a lot of help from the drug courts, and the number of drug courts all over the world is significantly increasing. Drug courts are improving the judicial system because they provide leadership for the treatment of offenders, provide supervision as a vital component of the drug courts, and also help in improving communication between the offenders and the drug court teams.

While discussing drug courts, we must also discuss the pros and cons associated with drug courts. Some of the pros related to drug courts are:
1. They help offenders on a social, legal, and medical basis while dealing with drug-related issues with a belief that all underlying problems need to be addressed.
2. They help in the rehabilitation of drug offenders, train them, and help them in getting jobs after the treatment.
3. Chances to repeat offenses become very rare due to effective drug court programs.
4. Centrality of case management is demonstrated in drug courts.
5. Drug courts help in reducing offenses by lowering re-arrests and providing more effective mechanisms for dealing with drug offenses.

Whereas the cons related to drug courts are:
1. No proper guidelines stating appropriate regulations are set for drug courts.
2. Number of drug courts in the United States and other countries is very less.
Apart from the cons related to drug courts, drug courts are not only helping those people who are brought to such places by their relatives for drug addiction treatment, but also it has proved to be a great place for such people who want to get treatment, not a forced one by their relatives. Bewley-Taylor (1999) found that drug courts are important for drug offenders because they provide the offenders with such treatment programs which may result in the dismissal of the charges and lesser penalties. A model drug court includes the incorporation of drug testing into case processing, the creation of an association between a defendant and the court, sending the defendants for treatment soon after identification, providing access to a range of not only treatment but also rehabilitation services, and observing self-denial through drug testing. Nolan (2001) found that a single agency can’t alone tackle drug and crime offenders, so drug courts work in cooperation with judges, court personnel, and treatment providers. A large number of drug court evaluations have been done over a decade mainly focusing on two outcomes; criminal recidivism and rates of retention and completion.

Recommendation
After discussing the pros and cons of drug courts, it is recommended that the county create an operational drug court which will not only help the government and the taxpayers in saving money but also will help in reducing the caseload of judicial courts. The use of drug courts for the county will also be beneficial because it will provide offenders with a drug-free environment to get proper treatment and rehabilitation instead of prisons where the offenders may get drugs from various hidden sources. Read More