Alternatives to Jail For Drug Related Crimes

Alternatives to Jail For Drug-Related Crimes

Distribution and abuse of illegal drugs and substances is a serious offense culpable for prosecution in the United States. Studies show that about 50% of the 7 million individuals incarcerated in US prisons are drug abusers or addicts (Garrett et al., 2019). However, the big question has been how effective incarceration is in the process of combating the menace of drug abuse. The point that authorities and prosecutors seem to overlook is the fact that suffering from drug and substance abuse is already a hefty punishment, and these people need more help than sending them to jail. There should be alternative punishment meted out on individuals found guilty of drug abuse, and such alternatives should focus on rehabilitating the person to become a useful member of society again. President Richard Nixon’s 1971 law that termed drug abuse and related crime a number one public enemy saw the militarization of law enforcement agencies in handling drug-related crimes (Hudak, 2022). The law targeted poor and diverse American communities and has cost American taxpayers millions of dollars, but it has proved ineffective. Individuals suffering from drug addiction should not be incarcerated because if given the opportunity for rehabilitation, such people will live a life with fewer crimes, significantly reducing the crowding in prisons, a move that will not only increase productivity in society but also save the state massive resources channeled to prisons.

Drug-related crimes usually are committed by people who are in active addiction, and sending these people to jail will not reduce the crimes or make these people change. Studies show that over 85% of inmates are active drug users after being incarcerated for drug-related offenses (NIDA, 2020). Ironically, 5% of these inmates receive relevant treatment. These statistics show that incarceration has not been an effective method in handling the recidivism rate and overall crimes related to drug and substance abuse. The criminal system should come up with addiction treatment centers as relevant intervention strategies for drug abuse and related crimes. Some states have made strides toward addressing substance use as a disease that needs to be treated, not penalized. Such states are devising behavioral and therapeutic alternatives to sending individuals battling addiction to jail. One dollar spent on drug courts is estimated to save approximately $4 in avoided costs of incarceration and health care, and prison-based treatment saves $2 to $6. Statistics reveal that approximately 68% of drug-related crimes are more likely to go back to their criminal lifestyle three years after their release from prison (Copp, 2019). These tendencies have resulted in a complex cycle of drug-related crimes that cannot be broken through incarceration. Law enforcement agencies should shift their tactics from arresting drug-related offenders to focusing on approaches that can help individuals suffering from addiction regain a healthy lifestyle.

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There are other routes that the criminal justice system can pursue to combat drug-related crimes than sending the offenders to prison. The most popular alternatives to incarceration for drug addiction are drug courts, community probation, and diversion programs. Individuals who participated in prison-based treatment followed by a community-based program post-incarceration were seven times more likely to be drug-free and three times less likely to be arrested for criminal behavior than those not receiving treatment (Copp, 2019). Offering alternative treatment to drug-related offenders allows the criminal justice system to change these people’s lives. Some of these techniques should target to attract drug-related crimes to volunteer to join treatment programs before they get into loggerheads with the criminal justice system. Authorities should monitor and utilize leverage and the threat of legal sanctions to compel drug offenders into joining beneficial programs for their rehabilitation (Garrett et al., 2019). The fact that inmates use drugs while behind bars shows that incarceration is far from handling the problem of drug-related crimes in the United States. The federal and state governments should pump more resources into drug addiction treatment centers where all drug offenders are sent for periodical rehabilitation before setting them into society. Besides, the criminal justice system can combine incarceration with probation and community supervision. Drug-related offenders can be granted parole after completing their rehabilitation programs to allow the authorities to monitor such individuals and determine if they have fully recovered into law-abiding citizens. These measures will go a long way in reducing the crowding in prisons, saving millions of taxpayers’ money, and combating drug-related crimes in society.

Counter Perspective

Drug-related crimes make up a huge number of the total incarcerated population, and the cost of alternative methods is equally high. Opponents of the alternative methods to incarceration observe that the government will spend millions of dollars in funding such programs, making the strategies expensive. However, studies show that the federal government spends upward of $22,000 per month to keep an incarcerated individual in prison, while alternative methods, such as methadone treatment, cost about $4,000, only making incarceration more expensive (Vito et al., 2017). It is important to acknowledge that, unlike other criminal offenses, individuals battling addiction stand a better second chance. These individuals have been participating in self-destruction activities, and they need someone to guide them to change their lives and become more productive members of society. According to NIDA (2020), participation in time-unlimited treatment programs is more economical in dealing with drug-related societal crimes than incarceration. Drug mitigation strategies are more effective and cost-saving in the long term as they prevent further destruction and the spread of crimes. The federal government can cut down on the prison budget costs by focusing on helping these people get a second chance in life and become law-abiding citizens. Besides, this move will break the notorious cycle of ‘reformed’ drug-related offenders going back to crime within three years after their release from prison.

Conclusion

In summary, it is vital to mention that evidence-based and cost-effective treatment offers a perfect alternative to the incarceration of drug-related offenders. Drug courts should reduce drug use and re-arrest for non-violent, drug-involved offenders. The resource-intensive nature and high costs associated with prisons make it important to reserve them for more complex cases in which the individual has not responded to less resource-intensive supervision. It pays when more responsibility is added to drug offenders by challenging them to embrace treatment programs that will see them through their re-entry into society as law-abiding citizens. Incarceration cannot solve the problem of the recidivism rate because prison denies drug offenders an opportunity to realize their mistakes and work towards regaining their sobriety. The criminal justice system should emphasize alternative methods of addressing the problem of addiction rather than imposing hefty punishment on drug addiction offenders.

References

Federal Bureau of Prisons. (2022, March 19). BOP Statistics: Inmate Offenses. Federal Bureau

of Prisons. Retrieved March 24, 2022, from

https://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/statistics_inmate_offenses.jsp

Hudak, J. (2022, March 9). Biden should end America’s longest war: The War on Drugs.

Brookings. Retrieved April 1, 2022, from https://www.brookings.edu/blog/how-we-

rise/2021/09/24/biden-should-end-America’s-longest-war-the-war-on-drugs/

Langan PA, Levin DJ. (2002). Recidivism of prisoners released in 1994.Washington, DC:

Bureau of Justice Statistics, US Department of Justice. Retrieved February 28, 2022,

from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3859122/

NIDA. (2020, June 1). Criminal Justice Drug Facts. National Institute on Drug Abuse; National

Institutes of Health; US Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved April 12,

2022, from https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugfacts/criminal-justice

Federal Bureau of Prisons. (2022, March 19). BOP Statistics: Inmate Offenses. Federal Bureau

of Prisons. Retrieved March 24, 2022, from

https://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/statistics_inmate_offenses.jsp

Hudak, J. (2022, March 9). Biden should end America’s longest war: The War on Drugs.

Brookings. Retrieved April 1, 2022, from https://www.brookings.edu/blog/how-we-

rise/2021/09/24/biden-should-end-America’s-longest-war-the-war-on-drugs/

Langan PA, Levin DJ. (2002). Recidivism of prisoners released in 1994.Washington, DC:

Bureau of Justice Statistics, US Department of Justice. Retrieved February 28, 2022,

from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3859122/

NIDA. (2020, June 1). Criminal Justice Drug Facts. National Institute on Drug Abuse; National

Institutes of Health; US Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved April 12,

2022, from https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugfacts/criminal-justice

Copp, J. E. (2019). The impact of incarceration on the risk of violent recidivism. Marq. L. Rev., 103, 775.

Federal Bureau of Prisons. (2022, March 19). BOP Statistics: Inmate Offenses. Federal Bureau of Prisons. https://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/statistics_inmate_offenses.jsp

Garrett, B. L., Jakubow, A., & Monahan, J. (2019). Judicial reliance on risk assessment in sentencing drug and property offenders: A test of the treatment resource hypothesis. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 46(6), 799-810.

Hudak, J. (2022). Biden should end America’s longest war: The War on Drugs. Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/how-we-rise/2021/09/24/biden-should-end-americas-longest-war-the-war-on-drugs/Langan

NIDA. (2020). Criminal Justice Drug Facts. National Institute on Drug Abuse; National Institutes of Health; US Department of Health and Human Services. https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugfacts/criminal-justice

Vito, G. F., Higgins, G. E., & Tewksbury, R. (2017). The effectiveness of parole supervision: Use of propensity score matching to analyze reincarceration rates in Kentucky. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 28(7), 627-640.

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