Maricopa County Drug Court Essay

3/15 – Present AB 109, Los Angeles County Probation Department, Downey, CA. PROGRAM ANALYST Analyze and make recommendations to Bureau Chief, Senior Directors, Directors, Supervising Deputy Probation Officers, and Supervising Program Analyst on technical, procedural and conceptual problems to establish benefits for target population which include case management maintenance, housing, employment, education services, substance use, and mental health treatment. Evaluate AB 109 program designs, including number of clients to be served and units of service to be delivered to prepare written recommendations to management regarding impact on services. Prepare monthly and statistical management reports to analyze and reflect the effectiveness of

Prop 36 has to find a better way to organize programs so that it suits better, to one’s recovery process. Through research on policy reform other (Open Society Foundation, 2013) has other alternatives to the drug policy reforms, which include decriminalization: The removal of criminal sanctions for minor drug offenses. In some cases civil sanctions, such as fines, are imposed instead of jail time. Depenalization: The retention of drug offenses as a crime, but with discretionary enforcement based on practical considerations and community needs.

“Drug courts are specialized courts that deal only in substance use/abuse cases. As an alternative to traditional courts, drug courts arrange for treatment for drug offenders. Upon successful completion of the program, some courts then dismiss criminal charges against defendants entirely” (Robinson, 2013). When somebody is accused and charges of drug possession, they have drug courts to handle these cases. If a man experiences the general court system, they will have more sentencing time and the fines are bigger.

Why we should incarcerate drug users Currently one of the less heated but still talked about debates is the issue of what we should do with those who have been caught using illegal substances. Some people say that we should be giving them rehab, and some say that they deserve to be in their. Both sides have their points, but the evidence points towards incarceration being a better option. The reason our judicial system incarcerates drug abusers are because enforcement will discourage drug use, it will keep them away from innocent people, and it will punish the addicts so they know not to do it again.

In 1971, 1 out of 12 Americans were incarcerated. Since that time, the prisoner ratio has exponentially increased; today, that ratio is 1 out of 51. With that number continuing to rise, many problems result out of it. Prison overcrowding is a growing problem in the United States. The number of people being taken in has regressive effects on the purpose behind imprisonment.

This coming year the United States will elect a new President. One amazing candidate that comes from my home state Texas is Governor, Rick Perry. He deserves your vote because of what he has done for Texas. Rick Perry has improved people’s health in Texas, and has great plans for health insurance in Texas, that can be established in the United States. He has also made the communities in Texas safer and can do that as well to the United States.

Diversion programs have become a prevalent form of justice in the Criminal Justice System. Diversion can be two things; diversion from jail or diversion from the legal system completely. Diversionary programs have been developed in the Criminal Justice System throughout its many levels for a multitude of reasons. Often, they are spurred on by practical concerns including, but not limited to, over-crowded prisons, the high cost of the criminal process, and as an alternative approach to dealing with those suffering from mental illnesses. Diversion may occur both before and after a trial and are aimed at avoiding the trial process (pre-trial) and incarceration (post-trial).

In 2014 there were 215,000 people incarcerated in federal prisons, almost half were there for drug-related offenses with the enactment of mandatory minimum sentencing laws for drug offenses in the 1980s, increasing the population by more than 800 percent (Malcolm, 2014.) “Moreover, drug offenders make up the single largest category of incarcerated offenders in Tennessee, serving an average sentence of 9.7 years” (Malcolm, 2014, paragraph 21.) By limit sentencing, we can address the issues of high cost, by using probation and parole for more misdemeanor

According to the National Institute of Justice, currently there are 1,558 drug courts within the United States, and 409 which are juvenile drug courts. The purpose of drug courts are to serve as an alternative to incarceration for drug offenders, based on a treatment-oriented approach. The research question that I have developed will address the effectiveness of drug courts on juvenile offenders compared to those adjudicated to traditional sentencing (i.e. Probation, Incarceration). Although many research has been conducted on the effectiveness of adult drug courts, less is known about effectiveness on

These programs help provide jobs for ex-cons and inanition made rehabilitation for drug offenders. During The “war on drugs” era individuals would get simply arrested for small crimes such as possession of drugs, using drugs, or distributing drugs, which did not help reduce crime or lower the recidivism rate. “War on drug” created an over populated prisons. What race was dominantly contained in these over populated prisons were African Americans. Reason for increase population of African Americans in prisons which was stated “At the same time, police increasingly began to target low-income minority communities for drug law enforcement.

The publication by Christina M. Gaudio is critical of the War on Drugs and focuses on its effects on juveniles. She takes time to outline the issues that are present with our current system, and specifically how the system is particularly unjust to juveniles. Gaudio details how the juvenile justice system operates state and federally, then she gives a brief history of the Drug War, the Drug Wars effect on Juveniles, its overall effectiveness, and possible solutions to what she sees as the problem. The Drug War is extremely costly to the taxpayer and is in many respects failing.

The abuse can hurt the relationship between the offender and their loved ones, and drive them away. The offender’s substance abuse can also affect the community; it puts the community’s residents at risk for their safety and

Essentially, the war on drugs has demonstrated to be an exorbitant expense. The federal government in 2002 alone spent $18.822 billion in the form of expenditures such as treatment, prevention, and domestic law enforcement (CSDP, 2007, p. 54). However, given that the drug war has garnered meager results, this investment may be interpreted as a waste of taxpayer dollars. Alternatively, the money that has been allocated to arrest and detain drug offenders may also be a source of contention. CSDP (2007) “Of the 1,846,351 arrests for drug law violations in 2005, 81.7% (1,508,469) were for possession of a controlled substance.

The Drug Treatment Alternative-to-Prison Program is another attempt to provide better treatment for people who are convicted. The study showed that drug offenders who underwent a treatment program outside of prison had a 26 percent less rate of re-arrest after two years than a control group that was sent to prison (Justice Policy Institute, 2010). Rehabilitative programs like the Second Chance Act and the Drug Treatment Alternative-to-Prison Program has shown to growth and positive

Another specialized court that a community might benefit from establishing is a mental health court. The aim of mental health courts is to connect people with mental illness, that display deviant behavior, to mental health resources and social services that can better deal with cases such as these as an option for individuals who need to be treated more than they need to be imprisoned (A Promising Alternative, 2011). One good reason to creating drug and mental health courts in a community is their goal to problem solve rather than just push defendants through the conveyor belt or revolving door