- English
- Español
Facebook
Twitter
Background
Alternatives to incarceration, including drug treatment
courts, are designed for criminal offenders who have an underlying substance
abuse disorder driving their criminal conduct. These programs provide them with the
option of choosing treatment and rehabilitation under judicial supervision
instead of incarceration.
By
focusing on the treatment of the underlying
substance abuse disorder, these programs address the underlying cause of the
criminal conduct rather than the symptoms. As such, alternatives to
incarceration can help break the "revolving door" of criminal behavior,
substance abuse, and imprisonment.
Drug treatment courts are the most researched of these
alternatives, representing one of the most studied aspects of the criminal
justice system. Decades of empirical studies show that, when implemented
correctly, they:
(1) Reduce
criminal recidivism;
(2) Lower
costs to the criminal justice system; and
(3) Improve outcomes for participants (including better relationships with their families and
communities).
These programs generally employ a multi-sector approach,
combining expertise from the criminal justice system, public health, and social
reintegration services. As such, they often also stimulate collaboration between
those sectors more broadly.
This approach is consistent with the
2010 CICAD Hemispheric Drug Strategy, which recommends addressing substance
abuse disorders as a chronic, relapsing disease that should form a core element
of public health policy. The OAS, through the Executive Secretariat pf the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control
Commission (ES-CICAD) of the Secretariat for Multidimensional Security, has
accordingly been working to promote drug treatment courts and similar
judicially-supervised treatment alternatives to incarceration in the Americas.
Since 2008, ES-CICAD has worked with fifteen member states
on exploring, designing, implementing, and/or evaluating alternatives to
incarceration, and welcomes the opportunity to support other countries
interested in promoting and/or consolidating this innovative approach.
updated on 11/15/2020 11:21:51 PM
