Written by Bill Schiffner, Contributing Editor
Courts Today Magazine
June / July 2018
Pages 26-28, 32
New hi-tech solutions on display at NADCP 2018
Drug treatment programs for offenders on probation continue to help people stay out of jail if they avoid drugs,
comply with supervision and pass regular tests to prove they are drug free. This practice saves the cost of incarceration and supports the offender’s rehabilitation within the community.
Research shows that court-monitored drug abuse treatment programs can help prevent offenders from committing new crimes. The success of the strategy however, requires much effort on the part of everyone involved in the criminal justice system (police, prosecutors, defense attorneys, probation officers and judges) to enforce the rules and respond to violations quickly and consistently.
Terrence Walton, chief operating officer of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP), reports that of the nearly 2.5 million people incarcerated in America about half of them are in jail because of drug use and addiction. “There are more than 3,000 drug courts across the nation to help those with sub-stance-abuse disorders get and stay on the right side of the law,” said Walton during a recent inter- view with The Kentucky Network to Transform Teaching. He adds that drug court professionals from across the country are on the front lines in the opioid battle.
Walton believes it’s a better alternative to ...
Originally published in the Courts Today Magazine and available at the following website address: https://issuu.com/jakinos/docs/courts_today_lr_de/26