Do Drug Courts Work?

Do Drug Courts Work?

Whether or not to accept a drug court offer is a decision your loved one will make after being advised by his or her attorney. If your loved one decides to participate in drug court, knowing how it works and what the success rates are may help you understand the process better.

How They Work: Counties design their own programs, but the majority require participants to attend at least weekly meetings with the drug court judge. Your loved one will also have to participate in various court-ordered activities such as 12-step meetings, listening to guest speakers, or taking part in group therapy. The programs are typically 12-18 months long, depending on the court rules and whether or not your loved one was charged with a felony or misdemeanor.

Cost Savings: According to the National Institute of Justice, if your loved one successfully completes drug court, he or she will have saved the state approximately $7,000, compared to the incarceration costs for the same time frame. This statistic is an average of varying sentence lengths and state vs. county incarceration costs.

Success Rate: Studies overall show that drug courts are successful when measured by how many drug court graduates stay out of prison and jail compared to non-graduates who go on probation without drug court. The research does caution that the success of an individual drug court depends heavily on how the program is set up, how well the participants relate to the drug court judge, and other factors such as follow-up care after graduation. One study found that two years after drug court, graduates had an almost 30 percent reduction in recidivism as compared to non-drug court misdemeanor offenders. Felony offender re-arrest rates dropped from 50 percent to 35 percent two years after graduation. A large Oregon study tracked 6,500 drug court and non-drug court offenders for five years and discovered a 17-to-26-percent reduction in re-arrests for drug court participants compared to their non-drug court counterparts.