Drug Treatment Programs

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses how treating a drug offender's addiction is the best way to keep him from re-offending. The paper looks at Treatment Alternatives to Street Crime (TASC), a program designed to help offenders get treatment with the hopes of decreasing crime. The paper discusses the mission and components of TASC and looks at studies that compare TASC, an involuntary treatment program, with voluntary treatment programs. The paper also examines studies that analyze which types of offenders TASC is most effective in treating and reforming. The paper concludes that, overall, the TASC program seems to be effective by treating offenders longer and thereby improving recidivism rates.

From the Paper:

"Researchers in the Criminal Justice field have discovered that treating a drug offender's addiction is the best way to keep them from reoffending to support their habit. The problem that justice officials face is that without outside pressure and guidance very few drug offenders will seek treatment for themselves. The solution to this problem is coerced drug treatment programs, whereby an offender is made to attend as a condition of their probation or parole, or as a form of diversion. One program designed to help offenders get treatment with the hopes of decreasing crime is Treatment Alternatives to Street Crime (TASC). TASC was started in 1972 as part of the Drug Abuse Office and Treatment Act (Satel, 1999). TASC attempts to coordinate the activities of the criminal justice system and drug treatment programs."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Anglin, M. D., Longshore, D., & Turner, S. (1999). Treatment alternatives to street crime: An evaluation of five programs. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 26(2), 168-195.
• Farabee, D., Prendergast, M., & Anglin, M. D. (1998). The effectiveness of coerced treatment for drug-abusing offenders. Federal Probation, 62(1), 3-10.
• Satel, S. L., (1999). Drug treatment: The case for coercion. National Drug Court Institute Review, III (1), 1-56.

More papers on Drug Treatment Programs:

• Term Paper # 104752 : "Drug Offender Treatment Programs"
• Research Proposal # 133734 : "Drug Offender Treatment Programs"
• Research Proposal # 104181 : "Drug Offender Treatment Programs"

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