National Background
The first drug court began in 1989 in Dade County Florida. A group of justice
professionals became frustrated when they saw the same offenders recycle through the
jails and prisons, observing that incarceration did not reduce addiction or the likelihood
of reoffending. When the offenders were released, they continued their criminal activity
and were still addicted to drugs. As early as 1962, the US Supreme Court in Robinson
v California, found narcotics addiction to be an illness. Treatment, rather than
punishment, was starting to become a preferred method of addressing the addicted
offender population. Judges across the country began to investigate alternative
sentences for individuals that were clearly addicted. Though well-intended, there was no
consistency across drug court programs and each judge had his/her own views of what
worked best. In 1994, the National Association of Drug Court Professionals was formed
and a more cohesive, organized approach began to emerge. This more coordinated
approach has produced national standards, best practices and scientific research which
demonstrate the success of drug courts.
Today there are well over 3,000 drug courts throughout the country, and they
exist in every state. Multiple states have seen Savings on many levels by implementing
drug courts and other treatment based options. For example, in 2007, Texas faced a
massive projected growth in prison population. State legislators invested more than
$241 million in Drug Courts and other Strategies to reduce recidivism. As a result,
instead of spending an estimated $2 billion in new prison spending, Texas closed
several prisons, experienced a 39 percent reduction in parole revocations, and drove
the statewide crime rate down to levels not seen since the 1960s.
There have been multiple studies conducted using strict, scientific principles to
evaluate the effectiveness of drug courts. The US Government Accounting Office,
National Institute of Justice, National Center for State Courts, Center for Court
Innovation and Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Center all have performed evaluations of
drug courts. In 2011, a multisite adult drug court evaluation compared the outcomes of
23 drug courts across the country. Results showed that drug court participants were
significantly less likely to relapse than a control group, have significantly less family
conflict and significantly reduced their criminal activity. These results are consistent over
time. As long as a drug court stays faithful to the model, successful outcomes will follow.
