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The Effectiveness of Drug Court Programming for Specific Kinds of Offenders

Methamphetamine and DWI Offenders Versus Other Drug-Involved Offenders

Washington State University

Katie A. Richardson

North Dakota State University

Numerous evaluations have documented that drug court programs can and do work (Belenko, 1998, 1999, 2001; Gottfredson, Najaka, & Kearly, 2003); however, to date, less attention has been paid to specific issues such as how well drug courts work for certain types of offenders. In particular, there has been a lack of attention paid to the personal characteristics that may be thought of as "risk factors" among participants, especially their drug of choice. Of particular interest in this study are the following questions: First, are drug courts equally effective for offenders charged with methamphetamine-related crimes versus other types of drug offenders? Second, is the drug court model equally effective for offenders charged with Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) compared to other types of drug-involved offenders? Data from a hybrid drug court operating in a small urban area in the upper Midwest was used to examine the above questions. Information on 87 individuals who had participated in this drug court program and 124 similar offenders who were sentenced to prison followed by traditional parole were analyzed. Results indicated that the drug court reduced recidivism for methamphetamine-involved and other types of drug-using offenders; however, among DWI offenders, drug court graduation was not related to reduced recidivism, as it was among non-DWI offenders. Implications for drug court programming and future research are discussed.

Key Words: drug courts • methamphetamine • driving while intoxicated

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