Sentencing and Corrections Drug Courts (Essay Sample)

Sentencing and Corrections; Drug Courts
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The use of drug courts is the most effective justice intervention alternative to incarcerating drug offenses and drug addicted individuals. Drug courts are court dockets supervised judicially and strikes a balance between helping the addicted offenders get free from drugs and at the same time hold them accountable for their actions. The drug courts programs keep the offender for a long time as they supervise and hold them accountable and monitoring their obligations to themselves, their families, and the society. Drug courts are important because apart from reducing drug usage, drug crime, saving money they also save children and bring back family reunions.
Drug courts aim at reducing substance abuse and recidivism among those eligible and nonviolent offenders. Specific characteristics such as criminal history, offense type, and history of substance abuse determine the eligibility criteria for one to qualify for a drug court program. Violent drug offenders are not allowed to participate in this program. Drug courts ensure the drug offenders are accountable for their behaviors, abstain from drug use and fulfill responsibilities that are legal which they committed. Drug courts would provide the drug individuals with education services and treatments to help them live lives that are crime free as they are being monitored. The drug courts programs can be diversionary operated. In this case, the offenders are promised that the charges against them will be reduced or terminated if they complete the program successfully. The vital components of drug court programs include screening the individuals participating for drugs, ensuring the participants adhere to the treatment, and ensuring the participants status hearings are being monitored by the court. Judicial staff operate hand in hand with the drug court staff to determine sanctions of an individual and rewards corresponding to participant behavior. Rewards like praise, achievement tokens and promotion to the next program phase are used to encourage progress. Sanctions can include increasing the treatment attendance, service to the community or brief prison stays. In case the participants comply with the program requirements, then advancements to more or fewer stages occur. It is the judicial judges' discretion and drug court staff to decide whether the participant has met all the necessary requirements for promotion to the next stage. (Byrne & Petersilia, 1992).
The use of drug courts is cost effective. According to Belenko, (1998), treatment cost composition of a drug court program varies between $1200 and $3000 for every participating individual. And this depends on the range of services provided. Saving on jail beddings is around $5000 per defendant, and this does not involve the value of the capability of incarcerating more serious offenders that many courts derive from this program. Similarly, prosecutors asserts observe that the program reduced police overtime, witness costs, and jury expenses of jurisdictions with the indictment process. In cases the cases went in a traditional manner, these could be required. Moreover, substantial participants who entered the program jobless and on public assistance got employed during the program period and now can support themselves financially. Even those who enter the program employed can maintain their employment while under the program despite their arrest.
Drug court programs hopefully bring back the drug offenders back to the community and not repeat drug crimes upon completion of the process. There is a strong relationship between attributes of social dysfunction shown by drug users and drug abu...