NCJ Number
184392
Date Published
Agencies
NIJ
Publication Series
Annotation
This paper outlines the elements that are crucial to the success
of a drug court, identifies future needs of drug courts, and
summarizes relevant research and evaluation sponsored by the
National Institute of Justice (NIJ).
Abstract
The drug-court approach has departed from the traditional court
approach by systematically bringing drug treatment to the
criminal justice population entering the court system. Treatment
is anchored in the authority of the judge, who holds the
defendant or offender personally and publicly accountable for
treatment progress. Among the elements crucial to the success of
a drug court are judicial commitment and leadership;
collaboration among criminal justice agencies, courts, treatment
agencies, and community organizations; education and training
programs for judges, prosecutors, defenders, and other criminal
justice practitioners in substance abuse, addictive behaviors,
and treatment approaches; and a specifically defined target
population that considers both drug involvement and public safety
risk. Further, a drug court should rely on a custom-designed
treatment program that addresses the specific treatment needs of
the court's targeted population. Integrated information
management should link the court with criminal justice and
treatment agencies and provide adequate supervision for
defendants/offenders. Needs confronting the drug court movement
include funding and the defining of parameters and standards. The
Crime Act of 1994 provides support for research and evaluation
studies of drug courts. NIJ is responsible for the evaluation and
research and will be soliciting proposals to conduct the studies
in the near future. The report "Justice and Treatment Innovation:
The Drug Court Movement," by John Goldkamp is recommended for
presenting the findings of the first National Drug Court
Conference.
Date Created: November 21, 2007