As our country's fiscal crisis forces budget cuts across the board, we are witnessing a renewed interest in criminal justice reform and taking a closer look at the $70 billion spent annually on America's correctional system. State and national leaders are calling for immediate spending reductions and an end to America's costly overreliance on incarceration. Calls for reform intensified recently with the Supreme Court's ruling on the removal of thousands of inmates from California prisons and with this month's 40th anniversary of the War on Drugs.
While there are no quick fixes, there are proven programs that we must expand during this reform effort. One highly successful program is the drug courts -- a solution that saves money, cuts crime and serves veterans in need. Here are four reasons why these courts must be at the center of any criminal justice reform process.
First, and most importantly, drug courts are the nation's most effective strategy in reducing recidivism -- especially among drug-addicted, nonviolent offenders with long criminal histories. By closely supervising participants and keeping them in treatment long enough to transform into productive members of their community, drug courts significantly reduce the use of jails and prisons, improve employment and family functioning, and save money by reducing crime, health care utilization and victim compensation. The courts, furthermore, reunite broken families, intervene with juveniles on the brink of a debilitating life of addiction and crime, and stop repeat drunk drivers.
Second, the data backing up the drug courts is no longer up for debate. The rapid growth of drug courts in the past two decades has inspired researchers to pay attention. More research has been published on the effects of the courts than on virtually all other criminal justice programs combined. The facts are now known: Drug courts reduce crime by up to 50 percent and have been found to save up to $13,000 for every individual they serve. We also now know that 75 percent of those who complete drug court are never arrested again, an impressive track record for the courts.
Third, drug courts stepped up to serve the growing number of veterans who face charges stemming from substance abuse to mental health issues. By connecting our veterans to the benefits and treatment they earned through military service, drug courts and veterans treatment courts ensure that veterans do not fall through the cracks when they become involved with our criminal justice system. It also provides a critical stopgap to prevent future veteran homelessness.
Fourth, drug courts are being successfully rolled out across the country. In our home state of California, for example, the courts are courageously combating the scourge of methamphetamine and prescription-drug abuse. This same success is being replicated across the country, from rural towns to our largest cities. Drug courts now number more than 2,400 and are located in every U.S. state. They represent truly nonpartisan drug policy.
In sum, drug courts focus on high-value offenders, those who have the highest need for treatment and wraparound services, and those who have the highest risk of failing out of those services without support and structure. These are the individuals who drain the system of resources and perpetuate generational crime and substance abuse. Drug courts serve more than 120,000 such individuals every year, but this is only 10 percent of the eligible offender population. The Department of Justice recently identified 1.2 million individuals in the criminal justice system who would be eligible for drug court but are unable to gain access because one is simply not available.
This is precisely the reason why we need more drug courts, not fewer.
As Congress looks to cut spending and reduce the federal deficit, it is critical that we do so judiciously and with an eye to the future. We must not make cuts to programs that will cost us more in the long run, particularly at the expense of our public safety. There is no greater example of such a program than drug courts.
If this nation is serious about lowering exorbitant criminal justice costs, then we should not cut a program that returns up to $27 for every $1 invested and which has the support of Democrats and Republicans. We should, instead, hold the line on drug courts funding so they can continue to treat our most seriously addicted offenders each year and meet the growing needs of our veterans in the criminal justice system.
Rep. Michael M. Honda, California Democrat, is a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies. Follow Rep Honda on Facebook and Twitter. Martin Sheen is an actor and film director.
This post was originally published in the Washington Times.
Follow Rep. Mike Honda on Twitter: www.twitter.com/repmikehonda
The system is broken..we need accountability,consistancy, and genuine interest from the Judges before the drug courts will work for everyone.
You cannot punish a disease...it does not work. Wake up America. Someday it could be your kid never say never....you never know. Taxpayers are paying through the nose for a broken system.
How about "Sub-prime Mortgage Default Swap" Courts?
How about "Goldman Sachs Bonus at Taxpayer Expense" Courts?
How about that "Representative"? Oh, I get it; poor people don't give enough to your campaign to stay out of jail.... I see how it is.
If cigarettes, which are known to be dangerous to people's health, can be legal, why can't marijuana, which is not harmful?
"They hate us for our freedom"?? Not by a long shot. American version of freedom is not true freedom!
While this is certainly a better option than jail, it's also a complete waste of time & money - unless, of course, you happen to own a rehab center - and means that people with REAL drug problems who voluntarily seek help often have trouble finding it due to facilities being overwhelmed by court-ordered patients with nonexistent medical conditions.
There are people who do have serious problems with marijuana - not physical addiction, but typically mental health issues that they're using marijuana to self-medicate, just like many alcoholics have, and the rehab system is still available for them.
That said, even NIADA doesn't go so far as to claim that marijuana is addictive, even psychologically.
Instead, they issue statements like "some marijuana users meet some of the criteria necessary for diagnosing addiction."
You need to meet ALL of the criteria to be diagnosed, so that's just a long-winded way of saying pot's not addictive, but, looking past that, quantitatively, what percentage of users qualifies as "some?"
While I don't doubt that there are people who compulsively smoke marijuana - just as there are people who compulsively gamble, bite their nails, or engage in sexual activity - I think there is a world of difference between that and shooting heroin or smoking ice, and I find it troubling that many politicians, law enforcement officials, and treatment professionals seem to have problems making that distinction.
1. End the War on Drugs now.
2. Legalize marijuana tomorrow.
3. Decriminalize all other drugs tomorrow afternoon.
4. End the police gangs stealing property under bogus forfeiture laws.
5. Release all marijuana only prisoners tomorrow.
6. Ban private for profit prisons.
7. Eliminate three strikes laws for drugs.
There you have billions of dollars of savings tomorrow and eliminate most of the profit for Mexican drug cartels.
Your proposal will do nothing but increase the size of the government.
Yes, there are better solutions than Drug Courts, but Drug Courts are a lot better than prisons, and especially for people who have actual addiction problems, it's a way to give them help without waiting for the politicians to be willing to give up their highly profitable failed war. The Drug War is an addiction, and the addicts aren't willing to give it up cold turkey; think of this as methadone for the politicians.
I'm kidding they hate freedom.
Unaware of the complicated emotional and physiological factors underlying addiction – including “stinking thinking” and unbridled self-centeredness – many otherwise responsible individuals urge turning some of these addictions into a revenue stream. It seems revenue from off-track betting, lottery tickets, Bingo, cigarettes and alcohol isn't enough filthy money to fill state and federal treasuries.
We’re a society of addicts. Effectively dealing with addiction is more than saying “yes” to individuals. The ‘quick fix’ of “just legalize and tax” enables; but doesn’t heal people’s ills.
At what point do Americans deal with problems which form the underlying reasons we abuse food, alcohol, work, cigarettes, gambling, sex, illegal and prescription drugs, TV, computers and electronic games, etc.? Doesn't this raise a red flag of problems we're sweeping the consequences of addictive behavior under the carpet rather than dealing maturely with them?
I retired after 51/2 years as the prosecutor assigned to the Buffalo (NY) Adult Drug Treatment Court. Beyond any doubt, treatment works! Hundreds of thousands of Treatment Court graduates, in the USA and overseas, speak to a healthy, productive life without addiction. It can be done IF we're willing to do the work and not take the easy way out – again – and IF we’re not seduced by the illusion of easy money solving our problems.
This would free up law enforcement and the courts, prisons, and the entire judicial system to go after criminals, not people who made bad lifestyle choices.
Yes there is.
End the crime against humanity known as the war on drugs.
Legalize pot and tax it.
Eliminate all for profit prisons.