What are sentencing reform, diversion programs and drug courts?
Substance use disorders frequently lead to prison: drugs and alcohol are implicated in the crimes of 81 percent of state prison inmates.8 In addition to buying and selling illegal substances, many offenders have committed crimes while under the influence, stolen money or goods to buy drugs, driven drunk or under the influence, or have acted violently because of their addiction. Prison overcrowding and recidivism have forced states to develop new means of alleviating growing pressures on the criminal justice system. So far, states have found that the three most effective methods to achieve these goals are sentencing reform, diversion programs and drug courts and diversion programs. The theory is that mandatory treatment in lieu of (or in addition to) incarceration will reduce dependence on drugs and thus reduce drug-related crime. As the body of research supporting this notion has grown, so has the number of jurisdictions that use these approaches. Sentencing reform developed because th
