UC Study Shows Effectiveness Of Ohio's Drug Courts

Ohio's drug court system has shown great promise as a tool in reducing repeat criminal and social difficulties for its participants, according to a new University of Cincinnati study that took a comprehensive look at experience with the concept across the state's legal systems.

"It can be concluded that the drug courts in Ohio are having a significant and appreciable effect," writes Ed Latessa, principal investigator for the study and the head of UC's criminal justice division.

Drug court graduates, on average, were 15 percent less likely to be re-arrested than a comparison group who did not receive drug court services. Broken down by the types of courts looked at, Common Pleas-based drug courts showed a 19 percent improvement among their graduates, Juvenile drug courts showed a 16 percent improvement, and municipal court-based drug courts showed a 9 percent improvement.

The study was funded by the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services. The experiences of more than 1,600 participants from 10 different drug courts around the state formed the basis of the study. Nationally, drug courts have spread rapidly over the last decade, reaching a total of 700. Typically, they offer a combination of treatment options and judicial oversight for convicted drug offenders as an alternative to jail time.

"The drug court model clearly embraces the notion that 'get tough' policies towards drug abuse have fallen short," Latessa says. "By endorsing the view that treatment, when combined with strict judicial monitoring, can be an effective tool in reducing recidivism, drug courts hold more promise than traditional policies that rely on incarceration and stricter sentences."

The study concludes that the current system is doing a good job of targeting appropriate candidates to drug courts, but recommends adopting standardized assessment tools to improve the evaluation process. In addition, the study recommends that aftercare programs be made available and that participants in drug courts be required to attend those programs.

The complete text of the study is available for review online. It can be viewed in PDF format by visiting: www.uc.edu/criminaljustice/ResearchReports.html and clicking on "Outcome Evaluation of Ohio's Drug Court Efforts."