U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Intensive Judicial Supervision and Drug Court Outcomes: Interim Findings From a Randomised Controlled Trial

NCJ Number
238985
Journal
Crime and Justice Bulletin Issue: 152 Dated: November 2011 Pages: 1-16
Author(s)
Craig Jones
Date Published
November 2011
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This study from the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research examined the effect of intensive judicial supervision on drug use and sanctioning rates.
Abstract
Study results on the effect of intensive judicial supervision (IJS) on drug use and sanctioning rates found that participants in the IJS group were significantly less likely to return positive urinalysis tests, had a greater number of episodes of abstinence, and were less likely to accrue sanctions than participants in supervision as usual (SAU) group. In addition, the study found that for participants in either group, the odds of having sanctions waived or having to serve sanctions in prison did not change with the introduction of IJS. This study from the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research examined whether the use of IJS affected drug use and sanctioning rates for juvenile offenders. Data for the study were obtained from a randomized controlled trial use of IJS between March 2010 and March 2011. Participants were randomly allocated into either IJS or SAU, with IJS participants appearing before a judge two times per week for 3 to 4 months during phase 1 and SAU participants appearing before a judge once per week for 3 months during phase 1. Analyses of the findings provide evidence that IJS can have a significant and positive effect on reducing substance use and sanctioning rates for juvenile offenders during their initial interactions with the juvenile justice system. Implications for policy are discussed. Figures, tables, references, and appendix