ICAAT: Drug Courts: Defining and Measuring Success

February 5, 2004
By Robert Newman, MD

An article in the Jan. 16 Toronto Star (Canada) hails the success of a “therapy program alternative to jail for addicts, ” on the fact that only 3 of 75 “graduates” re-offended. Turns out this program, whose clients “have really jumped through hoops,” has been operational for 5 years. How many eligible offenders rejected participation because it demanded waiving the cherished presumption of innocence by pleading guilty? How many failed to meet the therapeutic demands of the program once enrolled and were sent to jail as a consequence? These important answers are not provided by the reporter. In any event, one must wonder about the expense and the relevance of a program that, on average, graduated 15 clients annually during its first five years of operation.

Of course, any approach that offers an alternative to jail — even if it be temporary, and even if it benefit only a handful of people, — should be applauded. We must not allow prison “diversion” programs, however, to become a justification for perpetuating the law enforcement mentality that underlies the “war on drugs” and defines its strategy.