The Effects of Drug Court on Public Policy is a Driving Force for Change

Drug court is an exciting new approach to dealing with drug crime and how it drives public policy.  There are many factors that contribute toward change in the criminal justice system and the drive behind legislature and the policies that address this issue.  Effective measures of dedicated policy makers and criminal justice leaders, along with the court system work with offenders to deal with the core issue as to the root of the problem and a solution.  This involves the corporation of the offenders in their rehabilitation.  This is a long term view of drug crime prevention and recidivism factors into this approach of drug courts long term reaching effect which is a long process but is a positive one. Commitment is key in this issue.

Change in public policy and the commitment to deal with this particular issue is a driving force toward change in the criminal justice system and the effects on public policy.  This innovative approach is a strategy in reform. The need to change is a great motivator.  One can look at past programs and policies and see when goals are not being met.  This is exactly what happened when community leaders and criminal justice policy makers took a look at the failing system of crime drug and the offenders who contributed to the recidivism.  Policy is driven by change and the challenges that make up these criteria as a whole. The policy of get tough and lock them up faced and continues to face challenges as the demanding financial cost soar and resources dwindle in today’s economically challenging times.   Change is also not done in an instant but takes time in the implementation of this policy of drug courts.  This allows the courts to focus on drug crimes a crucial issue as this is often on the case docket greatly with drug offenders.  One has to take a look and peer into this issue and the causes and effects as well.  Identifying the problems and dealing with this drug crime issue is essential to establishing effective policies to deal with finding a solution.  Change is a momentum in this strategy of drug courts to deal with issue.

The past efforts consisted of incarceration which was deterrence and was costly and did not deal with the issue of reducing recidivism through the rehabilitative/ blended sentencing which focuses on the reason an offender commits the crime and the addiction that drugs motivate offenders to commit crime.  A good example is a woman or man who is addicted to crack cocaine and they go out and commit prostitution in order to obtain the money they need to get their next fix.  This is a vicious cycle that has a negative impact on the community in crime, as well as the negative impact on the offenders as they spiral downward into crime and addiction.  The cycle needs to stop.  A good example of past policy would be to lock them up and then they are released and usually they revert back to their offensive behavior. This then increases recidivism.