Drug Treatment in Criminal Justice System - Essay Example

Drug Treatment in Criminal Justice System Introduction A drug has been defined as any chemical that has a biological effect on living things, and it can be in various forms but mostly it is man-made. Drugs fall into different categories with some being useful in the maintenance of good health by individuals, but some causing more harm than the intended good. The drugs that cause more harm, and those that are taken without any particular illness or prescription are as psychoactive drugs, and they are ingested so as to alter the functioning of the brain. Continual use of these psychoactive drugs is not good because they can permanently affect the functioning of the brain, impairing judgment and leading the users into doing things that are not intended for the users. Finally, it leads to addiction whereby the person so addicted cannot function without drugs, and they may find themselves engaging in criminal activities o as to access the drugs when they do not have the money to purchase the drugs. Drug addiction and use also lead to conflicts with relations and strained relations between family and friends because the person using the drugs may act in ways not acceptable to the family and friends. Most of the psychoactive drugs are in many jurisdictions, and continued use may end up exposing the person to jail terms and fines. There are many offenses that are to drug use and possession, and it is of interest for any jurisdiction to control the possession, use and consequences of the drug use. Criminal justice system is the systems that have been put in place by a government to control limit and eliminate criminal activities in a jurisdiction, and it is usually an arm of the state. The criminal justice system is enforced using public resources, and, therefore, the most economical and equally effective policies should be adopted for the common good of the nationals of the jurisdiction (Berridge, 245). Criminal effects of drugs In order to properly understand this essay, it is important to highlight the delinquent repercussions of drug use and how the same can affect the individual. Drug use and possession are illegal in many jurisdictions, and thus if a person is found to have used the drug, they will be forced to face criminal consequences. Drug possession is meant to curb those who possess the drug for onward transmission to the users or those who are holding the same before they use. Therefore, the state does not have to prove that one actually used the drug for one to be prosecuted. There are also those offenses that are by the persons in the process of obtaining drugs, depending on the prevailing circumstances. These offenses do not have to be in any way to drug use, and they could be stealing money to purchase the drugs, breaking houses to access money for the drugs or to steal the drugs especially when the use of the drugs is prohibited. These are mostly persons who are already addicted, and they have used all the money on drugs and no longer have the money but they need the drugs to survive (Coomber & South, 440). There are also those offenses that are to the lifestyle of the drug users, like association with persons who us and distribute the drugs and can be prosecuted for being accessory after the fact of the crime. These offenses are committed by default because drug users love flocking together so as to share the drugs or plan strategies on how to avoid the authorities. There are also those crimes that are as a consequence of the impairment of the mind, and these crimes are committed without the requisite mens rea and thus they are strict liability offenses. These crimes include violent crimes such as assault and causing grievous bodily harm and also sexual offenses crimes committed because of the impairment of judgment. These crimes are regardless of the fact that the person may not have had the intention to commit the offense as long as they were committed while drunk. These are serious offenses that the offender may end up with long jail terms even life sentences. Finally, the drug users can cause driving offenses such as drunk driving, dangerous driving and those offenses that are when a person causes an accident while drunk. Drug treatment in the criminal justice system Assessment and action Treatment needs in a criminal justice system is triggered when a person, who is also a drug user, is arrested or convicted because of a crime they had committed. This is when the needs of the person with regard to treatment and follow-up are determined. When the person is found to have needs that warrant treatment, the most appropriate treatment is then rolled out based on the nature and extent of the need that is discovered. The drug treatment to reduce harm is when the condition of the person in need is beyond treatment, and the only thing that can be done is a symptomatic treatment to reduce harm. This harm can be the pain he is feeling and, therefore, the treatment will give him some relief. The harm experience can also be physical harm to himself because of mental illness or personal disorders, and the treatment will be towards the reduction of harm to himself. At times, it can be harm to others, and this includes psychological and emotional harm to loved ones. This will be harder to address because it means that the treatment system will encompass needs of more than one person and the criminal justice system. Treatment focusing on abstinence should be in situations where the person is an addict, and the abstinence program is viable to avoid further effects of drug use (Duke, 40). When offenders have been apprehended, tried and convicted for engaging in criminal activities, it is paramount to consider a needs assessment that is towards determining the number of inmates that may need treatment. This is done to all inmates regardless of the reason they were convicted, and even those who were convicted of non-drug related crimes are considered. It is that this is a crucial stage for addicts because being convicted means limited access to drugs and they may have fatal withdrawal symptoms. Needs are also be noted to vary from minor needs to greater needs of mental breakdown due to drugs. After the needs assessment, it is paramount for the corrections officers to determine the readiness of the offender to start treatment, as treatments for drug use mostly depend on the will of the person to change. After the determination of the need to treat and the will to start treatment by the offender, the next step is to have a comprehensive planning whereby the resources and time are to an individual program. The treatment is then kicked off after planning, and then adequate monitoring and control should be put in place to ensure that the drug treatment procedures proceed in the anticipated manner. The monitoring and control are also crucial to gauge whether to continue with the treatment or change the treatment plan for better effectiveness. Treatment outcome assessment is the last step in this process after the drug treatment has ceased, and the correction center is finding out on the positive impacts of the drug treatment (Ettorre, 139). It is at this point that the successes challenges and outcomes are noted and acted upon. Foundations of drug treatment The foundations of drug treatment are the basic tenets that ought to be fulfilled to determine whether the treatment system is effective. From this determination of objectives, a judgment can be made on whether the drug treatment should fulfill a harm or abstinence based on the objectives to be achieved. The first objective to be in drug treatment is that it should target dynamic needs, and this means that the treatment method that is should be able to not only heal the harm that the individual is going through but should also look at the root cause of the harm. Most root causes are drugs but in some instances, there is a further root cause into drug abuses, such as low self-esteem, weak socialization, and poor parental practices. A drug treatment that focuses on criminogenic need will target all the possible causes of the criminal behavior in the convict and address the same. This means that it may be possible to uncover situations that were hitherto known to the individual during assessment needs stage (Manning, 268). It is, therefore, noted that the needs assessment should also be wide and as open-ended as possible so that it can pick all the reasons for the delinquent behavior. In this regard, this treatment objective seems to focus on both the needs and the abstinence as a drug treatment objective, because when the root cause is known, then the person may not need to take up drugs again. Since this is a very wide area of consideration, it may be prudent to do a reassessment and resource allocation once the needs have been identified, to ensure that the correct amounts of time and resources are available. The drug treatment that is rolled out should also be able to have multimodal effects on the target, and this mean that it should be able to focus on all the effects of the drugs on the person. When a person is addicted to the drugs, there are many changes to his body, that end up making him different from when they were not using drugs, and all these differences ought to be dealt with to have overall effectiveness. This will enable the person to lead a normal life and even seek employment when his prison term ends. Therefore, although treatment like detoxification is important for the overall goodness of the person by removing the drugs from the body, the treatment of other effects of the drug such as mental treatment is very important. It is to be that not all effects of addiction can be treated, and some may remain with the person all their lives even causing their deaths. When an addict has a permanent mental damage or liver or lung damage, the only treatment should focus on harm reduction and pain reduction because the treatment of a permanent damage is not possible. It is that this objective of treatment also covers both harm reduction and abstinence because treatment towards a free live will also focus on the elimination of any possible harm that has already occurred (Young, 127). Another characteristic objective of a successful treatment program is that it should be responsive and flexible. Responsiveness to the drug treatment means that the drug should be able to cater to the needs of the individual being treated, and should also be able to indicate when those needs change. The treatment needs for drug-treated individuals change over time depending on the level of abuse they were engaged in. The needs also change with the change in immunity and resistant to drugs being offered, and thus the caregiver should be able to gauge from the body of the person being treated that the needs have changed. This coupled with the regular needs assessment will ensure that the right program is for the right individual and that the overall drug effectiveness is increased. From this objective, it is not indicative what the objective will lead to either abstinence or harm reduction. This objective will suit both sets of treatment whether it is geared towards harm reduction or otherwise (Measham, 350). Risk differentiation is also another issue that drug treatment ought to address. Risk differentiation is a situation whereby the drug treatment is doctored in such a way that various risk levels of individuals are segregated and addressed, such that the attention high-risk individuals receive is higher that the attention that low-risk individuals face. This is the point that economy comes in because the correction officers have to decide who deserves what level of treatment. Those with mild symptoms and effects will be given a lighter treatment while those with chronic effects or high-risk conditions have to be care that is proportionate to the conditions that have. It is, however, noted that with low-risk individuals it is still good to come up with a treatment plan that will not only treat the individual but will also address the long-term abstinence of such an individual to prevent addiction. As for the high-risk individuals, the correction officers ought to focus on a treatment plan that will see them have a long term relief from the effects of drug use (Spear, 133). At this stage, the main aim of the drug treatment may shift from abstinence to harm reduction because these are the groups with the highest incidences of harm. It is only after the arm is that abstinence should be focused at. Therefore, since harm reduction is the main aim of this group of individuals, there is a need for follow-up in order to ensure that they do not engage in deliquescent behaviors in the future. From this point, it is noted that the aim of treatments differs with the kind of the individual being treated, and high-risk individuals is likely to focus on harm, while low-risk individuals focus on abstinence. The other success factor of drug treatment is that it should provide an avenue for skills-oriented and cognitive-behavioral treatments, to suit the various needs of the individuals. These are treatments that focus on harm reduction and long-term control of the effects of drug abuse. These treatment methods are based on the notion that when a person is well versed with his weaknesses and what makes him behave in an inappropriate way, then it becomes easy for the person to manage the situation. Skill oriented treatment is the treatment that focuses on teaching he patient skills that will enable I to deal with the challenges that come with the condition he is suffering from because other forms of treatment are ineffective. It is that this method is best suited for persons suffering from personality disorders, whose behaviors emotions and well-being prevent them from attending normal therapy, and they end up making treatment impossible, expensive and cumbersome. Therefore, when individual characteristics are with, it enables the person to control their emotions and to prevent any further damage to themselves (West, 209). Cognitive behavioral therapy tends to focus on the way in which the individual thinks and believes and how these tend to affect his as a person. Therefore, cognitive therapy tends to change these beliefs and thoughts changing the overall worldview of the individual. Behavioral therapy tends to focus on the individual characteristics that predispose them to harm themselves without knowing that they are doing so. It is to be that this factor of treatment focuses on the effect of drug use but can also solve problems caused by other factors not caused by drugs. This method is purely for the prevention of harm, enabling the individual to live comfortably with the problem they are facing. They do not address abstinence and thus can be used by all persons suffering from personal disorders whether caused by drug use or not. The other basic tenant of drug treatment is that it should focus on offering comprehensive and integrated treatment to the persons that are affected by drug use. Most offenders indicted show that they have a drug use problem as well as other social factors that contribute to their overall behaviors (Blackman, 129). Therefore, the drug treatment that is rolled out should be able to focus on the kind of problems that the person being treated is going through and what actually made him engage in the criminal behavior. It is that some of the mental illnesses and disorders can be mimicked by a person who is suffering from alcohol abuse and actually how similar symptoms that are displayed by a person suffering from a mental problem. Proper elimination of the problem should focus on the social problem that the person is undergoing because it is only this way that the underlying problem is tackled. This approach focuses on the harm that the individual is going through as well as solving the underlying problem and leading to abstinence. The underlying problem and the type of the comprehensive program to be rolled out can actually be at the needs assessment stage. However, this becomes challenging when the underlying problem is the social status of the person such as poverty or the surrounding where he lives. These are factors beyond the individual, and it will not be economical for the state to go focus on the society where the individual lives or his economic status. Some prisons offer basic trainings on technical courses that the offenders may engage in when they come out of prison, and this can solve the economic status of the individual (Boakhout, 105). From this objective, it can be noted that both harm reduction and abstinence is because when the underlying problem is solved, the person may end up doing away with drug use and abuse completely. However, when the underlying cause for drug use is societal such that it is not difficult to completely eliminate, the correctional facility should focus on harm reduction and maybe behavioral therapy to help the individual lead an upright life amidst the poor social surrounding. Abstinence may not be possible in this case because the underlying problem cannot be .Another objective result of proper drug treatment program is that it should provide a after care management, and ensure that the individuals complete their treatment courses. This is effective in ensuring that there are minimum cases of relapse and rearrests of offenders who are because of drug use. Post-release supervision should be factored into the program to ensure that even after release; the main objective of the drug treatment is achieved, albeit when the individual is a free person. This is beneficial because it ensures that the person is when they are completely healed and appreciative of their past conduct. Most rearrests are as a result of treatments that are left midway either because the offender has been released and treatment impossible, or because the offender looks healed. As far as possible correction centers should model their treatments programs in such a way that the offenders clear treatment stages before they are released. Post-release supervision is also important because it gives a chance to the correctional officer to determine whether some of the criminal behaviors of the individuals were as a result of social setting where he lives. This will enable the correctional program to come up with a customized program that will enable the person being treated to complete his treatment successfully (Bennett & Holloway, 256). From this point, it is noted that this objective ought to be satisfied whether the objective of the treatment is harm reduction or abstinence, but it is more on abstinence because there is an end. As for harm reduction, there cannot be and the nature of the treatment is symptomatic, and the adverse effects may arise once the treatment is stopped. A good drug treatment program will also focus on external support in the circle of the offender in the implementation of the program (Becker, 129). Research has shown that the offender’s family, friends, and even employers can play a critical role in the success of the program especially in occasions where the offender is not ready or has resisted treatment. These are the persons who can influence and at times even control the offender, and if the control is positive then it will contribute to the long-term treatment. This external circle is good because it brings a different non-coercive perspective into the treatment, as the drug treatment under the criminal justice system may seem mandatory and a bit mechanical. The external circle will also act as a watchdog and accountability partners when the offender is struggling with the effects of the drug stoppage and may offer the requisite emotional support thereby preventing adverse effects such as withdrawal symptoms. It is, however, noted that the external support to be should be vetted beforehand to ensure that they have the same objectives of the treatment program as the correction officers. This is because people can be who will further discourage the offender and further aggravate the problem that the person is facing and should thus be chosen with caution. However, this focus may be useful only in the fight for abstinence because it may not be practical to have an accountability partner for life (Babor, 88). This is because, for harm reduction, the focus is on reducing the harm, when the underlying problem has not been tackled, and the problem may still arise again. Conclusion The aim of this paper is to determine the goal of drug treatment in criminal justice system. From the above analysis, it is noted that the goal of treatment varies based on the objective to be and also the level of risk facing the individual. When the person is in early stages of addiction and drug use, when the effects are not so manifest, then an abstinence program is viable because tackling the abstinence will also eliminate the harm. However, in high-risk individuals with extensive effects of drug use, harm reduction I the best strategy to follow because abstinence may not be possible, and it will not even be economical. However, it is noted that in some instances if harm reduction touches on the underlying causes of harm, abstinence will be achieved along the way. The program to be rolled out also depends on the resources available for the treatment, considering that there are many other offenders with varying needs who also require treatment. References Babor, T. et al. (2010). Drug Policy and the Public Good. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Becker, H. 1963. Outsiders: studies in the sociology of deviance. London: The Free Press. (Labelling theory) Berridge, V. (2013). 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