Drug Courts

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the Department of Justice of the United States of America, in order to cope with heavy work pressure, introduced a separate court for the sole purpose of dealing with criminal offenses committed by drug abusers and drug dependants. The author points out that the mission of a drug court is to use the coercive power of the country?s judiciary to influence a person into curtailing and eventually stopping the abuse of drugs or alcohol, thereby stopping such persons from indulging in criminal activities. The paper relates that the judge is the leader and is in control of the accountability of the person undergoing treatment to remain stable and to maintain sobriety throughout the course of treatment.

From the Paper:

"The ancillary services that Drug Courts utilize, such as training and education towards a job in the real world, offering of housing and medical assistance and general after care services, all contribute towards the success of the program. The end result of a well-executed Drug Court program would be a reduction of drug abuse and continued abstinence, and a significant reduction in recidivism rates. There remains, however, a lot of research to be done on the subject. For example, the availability of data is limited, especially data on the individuals who have completed the program and are now living productive lives. This means that comparisons based on the person's behavior with that of participants of any other similar program is not available and therefore there can be no reasonable conclusions reached. The other drawback of any research that may have to be conducted on the viability of a Drug Court program is the very nature of a Drug Court, which undergoes various changes, almost on a daily basis."

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