ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Evidence-based drug courts have grown to more than 3,000 courts in the United States, helping more than 127,000 individuals in the criminal justice system in 2014, a professional group says, with West Virginia seeing advantages from the program.
The National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP) made the announcement that the total number of drug courts throughout the nation has reached 3,057. According to the announcement, this marks a 24 percent increase in drug courts over five years.
As an alternative to incarceration, drug courts work to develop an individualized treatment plan that provides support for individuals with substance abuse disorders or mental health conditions.
“Treatment providers make sure that every individual has an individualized, evidence-based treatment plan and works with a team that includes law enforcement, probation, defense, prosecution and the judge to provide ongoing support, with a goal of treating the substance abuse disorder or mental health condition, to really give them the support and resources necessary to go on and live productive lives and not have to re-enter the justice system,” Chris Deutsch, director of communications at NADCP, told The West Virginia Record.
West Virginia has seen a rise in the number of drug-related cases being brought to court, West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Brent Benjamin told The West Virginia Record. “My judges tell me that over 95 percent of the abuse and neglect cases involve at some level drugs. It may not be the driving point, but it is an indirect or tangential aspect of it," he said. "Basically what we have seen over 12 years is an expansion of the pervasiveness of drugs in the matters that are coming into the West Virginia court system, whether that be criminal cases or in a more indirect way with respect to abuse and neglect case or the impact it has in family law cases.”
A success of the drug courts are their lower recidivism rates of 9.4 percent for adult courts, which see rates of repeat offenders as high as 80 percent without the use of a drug court. The recidivism rate for juvenile drug courts is 14.6 percent, compared to 55.1 percent without a drug court.
“The program has been very successful, not just in respect to showing that we’ve reduced the recidivism rates quite significantly, but it’s important to note it’s a cost-effective system,” said Benjamin. “The drug court saves West Virginia over $20 million a year just in saved incarceration costs alone. That’s very important. There’s also a humanitarian aspect to it. It saves lives. It restores families." He noted that by reducing the recidivism rate, the costs of prosecution are reduced, and added: "Of course, if you’re the potential victim, it saves you from winding back up in court.”
As more and more states look at adding drug courts to their legal system. NADCP expects the number of drug courts to grow throughout the nation. Funded through local, state and federal monies, the drug courts are seeing more support, and based on significant cost savings, they are seen as a winning proposition for most counties and states.
“This is a win-win for everyone,” said Deutsch. “Not only are these programs saving lives and reuniting families and cutting crime, they’re also saving money. As states start to look at their state budgets and are faced with the decision whether they have to build a new prison or investing in an alternative to incarceration like a drug court, it’s really a no-brainer. We’re seeing parties from both sides looking to things like drug courts because they know there’s a real proven return on investment.”
West Virginia has adult drug courts in 46 counties. It has 16 juvenile drug courts. It has had a total of 1,451 graduates from the drug courts in the state.