Year: 2011
Type: book-chapter
Abstract: This chapter first describes the changing patterns of drug misuse in the United States over the last forty years, which is necessary to understand the challenge now facing the criminal justice system. It then reviews what is known about the effectiveness of drug treatment in reducing crime at the individual level, and discusses interventions aimed at diverting drug-involved offenders from incarceration, such as drug courts, Proposition 36 (the largest diversion program in operation, even though it is restricted to California alone), and coerced abstinence/mandated desistence in Hawaii. Next, the chapter presents the empirical analysis of the surveys of jail and state prison inmates, showing the limited potential impact of drug courts under current eligibility rules. A commentary is included at the end of the chapter.
DOI: 10.3386/w16731
Authors: Harold Pollack, Peter Reuter, Eric Sevigny
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1585067261