Drug Courts in the US Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Drug Courts in the US - Research Paper Example This research paper aims at compiling a report on the effectiveness of drug courts in the United States. Brooklyn treatment court is among the largest drug courts in New York. This court documented the effectiveness of drug courts in reforming drug offenders struggling with addiction. It is documented that this court views drug offenders as individuals struggling with a chronic disease and not as a moral breakdown viewed by the judicial system. This court comes up with bands of treatment that have measurements of success used in evaluating the progress of the offender. Though the offenders upon release often come back with similar charges, the court views relapse as inevitable in any offender being rehabilitated from drug. The court reports that since the intervention measures adopted in drug courts are situation specific and contextualized their effectiveness in reforming the offenders is inevitable (Dorf & Sabel, 2000). Consequently, effectiveness of drug courts in the United States is also documented in the Belenko’s study. From his study of drug courts, it is reported that drug courts reported higher retention rates as they emphasized a more closer and comprehensive framework and supervision with the offenders. The drug testing which evidenced reduced levels in subsequent visits evidenced this. In addition, drug courts aided in judicial saving since there was reduces jail and prison use (Belenko, 2003). Subsequently, drug courts have been documented to reduce criminality. This is attributed to the fact that the offenders are under the strict supervision of their supervisors and have to report to the court. This reduces the chances for them to engage in criminal activities. It is documented that the main aim of any correction strategy is to reduce the rate of recidivism. Drug courts have been documented to be effective since they have been documented to reduce the rate of recidivism with a substantial margin (Weiman, 2007). Members of the