Tag Archives: Drug Courts And Recidivism

Drug Court Participants Mandated To Narcotics Anonymous Sent To Prison

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Many people do not realize with all the puff pieces on Drug Courts, how many participants actually fail in the program. Drug courts results are only based on the people who completed the entire program. These men who were sent to prison that were in the Drug Court program will not be counted, because they did not complete it in it’s entirety. This is not a proper way to see drug courts success or failure.

This article also points out that many people participating in Drug Court are still committing crimes and using drugs while in the program. They do not need to be mandated to Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings where many vulnerable members of society including minors attend. They end up in our parks and playgrounds in Holly Hill Fl.

Two who failed drug court sent to prison

Brett Ellis/Fremont Tribune | Posted: Tuesday, March 6, 2012 8:33 am

Two people who failed to complete drug court were sentenced to prison on Monday.
Judge Geoffrey Hall sentenced 29-year-old Ricardo Mendez of Fremont to 20 months to 5 years in prison for possession of methamphetamine, a Class IV felony.Mendez admitted to selling bath salts to fellow drug court participants and using synthetic marijuana while he was in the program.

“He turned drug court into a criminal enterprise,” Deputy Dodge County Attorney Mark Boyer said. “I can’t think of a much worse thing to do in drug court than trying to drag other people in the program down the drain.”
Mendez said he accepted responsibility for his actions but said the people he sold bath salts to chose to make those purchases.Hall, though, said Mendez was a “devious leader” who had a bad influence on other drug court participants.

“I believe your conduct in drug court is the worst kind possible because you took other people down with you,” Hall said. Hall also sentenced 20-year-old Zackery Carlstrom of Fremont to 20 months to 5 years in prison for terroristic threats, a Class IV felony. Boyer said Carlstrom reported using methamphetamine, cocaine, alcohol and marijuana while in drug court. Carlstrom also absconded twice from the program. “You had some successes,” Hall said. “However, the failures far outweigh those successes.” Hall also encouraged Carlstrom to use his talents in positive ways in the future. “Grow a backbone,” the judge said. “Do the hard right instead of the easy wrong.” Also on Monday, 26-year-old Anthony Martinez of Fremont was sentenced to 20 months to 5 years for terroristic threats and a year in prison for third-degree domestic assault, a Class I misdemeanor. The sentences will run consecutive to each other.

Martinez also was sentenced to 90 days in jail for criminal mischief, a Class II misdemeanor, and that will run concurrent with the other sentence. Hall also ordered Martinez to pay $400 in restitution.Chief Deputy Dodge County Attorney Stacey Hultquist asked for the maximum sentence based Martinez’s criminal history, which includes multiple arrests every year since 2004.

“This is a person who cannot be a productive person in our society and continues to get in trouble,” Hultquist said.
Martinez apologized to the female victim and her family. “That’s not how I was raised,” he said. “I know better than that.” Hall said probation was not an option for Martinez because of his criminal history.

http://fremonttribune.com/news/local/two-who-failed-drug-court-sent-to-prison/article_7eaca096-6799-11e1-b8d5-001871e3ce6c.html?mode=comments

GAO Report States Almost Half Of Drug Courts Do Not Decrease Recidivism

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Washington, D.C. – The Government Accountability Office last week released a report, in which it finds that only 18 of 32 drug courts – or just over 50% – showed statistically significant reductions in recidivism among participants. That is, almost half of drug courts do not reduce re-arrest rates of their participants below the rates of people who went through the normal criminal justice process.

“The message here is: enter a drug court at your own risk. The chance that you’ll enter a drug court that might help you avoid getting arrested again is about 50-50, the equivalent of a coin toss,” said Margaret Dooley-Sammuli, deputy state director in Southern California for the Drug Policy Alliance. “Clearly, the popularity that drug courts enjoy is not supported by the evidence.”

The GAO’s findings echo those of the Multi-Site Adult Drug Court Evaluation (MADCE), the longest and largest ever study of drug courts. Funded by the National Institute of Justice, MADCE recently reported a re-arrest rate for drug court participants that was 10 percentage points below that of the comparison group, but that the difference was not statistically significant. This means that the study effectively found no difference in re-arrest rates between the groups, as the decrease may be the result of chance.

“Drug courts have actually helped to increase, not decrease, the criminal justice entanglement of people who struggle with drugs and have failed to provide quality treatment,” said Daniel Abrahamson, Drug Policy Alliance’s Director of Legal Affairs. “Only sentencing reform and expanded investment in health approaches to drug use will stem the flow of drug arrests and incarceration. The feel-good nature of drug courts hasn’t translated into results. U.S. drug policy must be based not on good intentions, but on robust, reliable research.”

The Drug Policy Alliance this year released Drug Courts are Not the Answer: Toward a Health-Centered Approach to Drug Use, which found that drug courts have not demonstrated cost savings, reduced incarceration, or improved public safety; leave many people worse off for trying; and have actually made the criminal justice system more punitive toward addiction – not less. For example, people who struggle the most with a drug problem are more likely to be kicked out of a drug court and incarcerated. Although relapse is a common and predictable occurrence during treatment, drug courts often punish relapse with jail time.

The GAO’s study is available at: http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-53. Results from MADCE are available at: http://www.urban.org/publications/412353.html.

Tony Newman 646-335-5384 or Margaret Dooley-Sammuli 213-291 4190

http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/2011/12/government-study-finds-nearly-half-drug-courts-do-not-reduce-recidivism