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Public Policy Solution #1
Treatment and Recovery Support Services Should Be Available to Individuals under Criminal Justice Supervision
While the criminal justice system is not the answer to preventing or treating addiction to drugs and alcohol—and people with alcohol and drug problems should not have to get arrested to obtain care—much research demonstrates that being arrested can be a catalyst for the delivery of effective addiction treatment and recovery support. All facets of the criminal justice system—judges, prosecutors and defense bar, corrections, and parole and probation—can be very effective in reducing drug and alcohol abuse and addiction and criminal activity, and can help promote successful community reentry. To do so, they must implement effective, evidence-based approaches and collaborate well with each other and the treatment system.1
1 “Effective Practices for Protecting Public Safety through Substance Abuse Treatment,” Commissioned for NIDA, March 2000.
Developed by the Legal Action Center in Collaboration with the National Institute on
Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institutes of Health/
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services