NCJ Number
227191
Journal
Criminal Justice Policy Review Volume: 20 Issue: 2 Dated: June 2009 Pages: 236-246
Date Published
June 2009
Length
11 pages
Annotation
The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which the drug court intervention influenced the criminal trajectories of a particular group of offenders.
Abstract
The results of this study combined with previous research suggest that the artificial creation of prosocial connections acquired through drug court, when fully realized through graduation, were effective in reducing criminal activity. Drug courts are designed to replace the informal social networks and subcultures adopted by abusing and addicted offenders with prosocial networks supported by judicial oversight, continuous supervision, drug testing, and a behavior modification strategy. Wyoming,s drug courts operate in a manner consistent with most drug courts around the Nation by focusing on offender supervision, judicial oversight, frequent and random drug testing, and intensive substance abuse treatment. Using a combination of NCIC (National Criminal Information Center) and local police data from Wyoming, this study focused on the short-term effects of the drug court intervention on offender criminal trajectories. Figures, note, and references