For men and women whose struggle with substance abuse brings them into contact with the legal system, the personal losses can be enormous: families can break apart, health deteriorates, freedom is restricted, and far too often, lives are lost. But this is just the beginning of the potential devastation. Personal costs to the victims of crime are immeasurable. The effects of every theft, burglary, and violent crime reverberate throughout the whole community. Economic losses include the costs of arresting, processing, and incarcerating offenders, as well as the costs of police protection, increased insurance rates, and property losses.
Strong empirical evidence over the past few decades consistently has shown that substance abuse treatment reduces crime. For many people in need of alcohol and drug treatment, contact with the criminal justice system is their first opportunity for treatment. A substance use disorder may be recognized and diagnosed for the first time, and legal incentives to enter substance abuse treatment sometimes motivate the individual to begin recovery. For other offenders, arrest and incarceration are part of a recurring cycle of drug abuse and crime. Ingrained patterns of maladaptive coping skills, criminal values and beliefs, and a lack of job skills may require a more intensive treatment approach, particularly among offenders with a prolonged history of substance abuse and crime.
This TIP was developed to provide recommendations and best practice guidelines to counselors and administrators based on the research literature and the experience of seasoned treatment professionals. It covers the full range of criminal justice settings and all the phases through which an individual progresses in the criminal justice system. It addresses both clinical and programmatic areas of treatment. The consensus panel defined the areas highlighted below as important in efforts to achieve the treatment objectives of recovery and a life in the community for everyone.
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