Establishing Drug Treatment Courts: Strategies, Experiences and Preliminary Outcomes - Volume One: Overview and Survey Results

• NCJ Number: 230523
• Author(s): Caroline S. Cooper; Brent Franklin; Tiffany Mease
• Date Published: April 2010
• Length: 128 pages
• Sale Source: American University
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Report prepared for the Drugs Summit: European, Latin American and Caribbean Mayors and Cities, April 21-23, 2010, Lugo, Spain

Annotation

The purpose of this report is to describe the strategies that have been developed to establish Drug Treatment Courts (DTC) in countries that have implemented them, the services they are providing, the target populations they are serving, and the impact they have had to date, as well as lessons learned which may be useful for others embarking on a DTC initiative.

Abstract

The first Drug Treatment Court (DTC), or "drug court," was established in 1989 in the United States as an experiment by the Dade County, Florida Circuit Court. The program targeted felony drug users and provided an intensive, community-based and multi-dimensional alternative to incarceration. Survey information compiled from 12 countries (Belgium, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, Chile, England, Ireland, Jamaica, Mexico, Norway, Suriname, and the United States) responding to the Executive Secretariat of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (SE/CICAD) presents an argument for why DTCs are a good idea, and gives a snapshot of what they cost, what savings they can create for their respective societies, both economically and in human terms, and what benefits can accumulate, in terms of public safety and community well-being. The perceived success of the various programs through survey responses has been mixed. A drop in recidivism, in particular, has been seen as a measure of success by most survey respondents. This report represents the first in a series of reports that will be prepared to document the operations, services and impact of drug treatment courts in the various countries. The organization of the report mirrors the questions on the CICAD survey instrument, with an introductory section providing a synopsis of the survey responses in key topic areas, followed by a compilation of the survey responses to each question from each of the responding countries, including information on the costs and resources necessary implementation and operation of DTCs in the responding countries and the impact noted. Available statistical information from existing DTCs, including a comparison of recidivism rates among those who participate in DTC programs versus persons who would otherwise be incarcerated, is included. Additional supporting documents provided by respondents are included in Volume Two which serves as the Appendix for the report. Charts