Jail vs.

Substance Abuse Treatment

Abegail Jennings Professor Steven Hall English 1010 7 April 2014 Jail vs. Substance Abuse Treatment Every time you turn on the news there are countless stories of drug addicted individuals that are being arrested and put into our jails and prisons. As a community is there an answer to helping these individuals or are they so hopeless we just continually lock them up? The use of illegal drugs and alcohol affects everyone in some aspect of their life. It is a growing concern for us as a community and therefore raises the question: With the ever growing demand for space in our jails and prisons, I ask the question does sentencing non-violent drug addicted criminals to rehabilitation while incarcerated benefit or disfavor our society as a whole?

1. Stephen J. Bahr, Paul E. (Lish) Harris, Janalee Hobson, Strobell and Bryan M. Taylor. Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol. Sage Journals. Sage Journals, 28 May 2012. Web. 7 April 2014 With the jails and prisons becoming so overcrowded we as a society need to look at the underlying issue. In this article, we will look at 70 inmates who participated in an intensive, short term drug treatment program and then also 70 inmates that did not. My

Jail vs. Substance Abuse Treatment

IEP questions the effectiveness of treatment programs in our criminal justice system and what a better way to get answers then to look at the facts.

2. Harold A. Pollack, Peter Reuter, and Eric, L. Sevigny. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. Sage Journals. Sage Journals, 2013. Web. 7 April 2014 Drug court is a community-based program treatment combined with the justice system oversight as an alternative to incarceration. In doing my research it is important to look at all treatment options available to offenders with a substance abuse problem. Using this source is vital in understanding the drug court procedure and the positive and negative impacts on the individual as well as society.

3. Josephine Hawke, Gerald Melnick, and Harry K. Wexler. The Prison Journal. Sage Publications. Sage Publications, 2004. Web. 7 April 2014 This source was chosen to look into the clients perception of the prison based treatment centers. In this article it shows the importance of the individuals willingness to engage in the therapeutic process and how this bears directly into the success of the program.

Jail vs. Substance Abuse Treatment

4. Burdon, William M., Jef St. De Lore, and Michael L. Prendergast. "Developing And Implementing A Positive Behavioral Reinforcement Intervention In Prison-Based Drug Treatment: Project BRITE." Academic Search Premier. Academic Search Premier. 2011. Web. 7 Apr. 2014. When implementing these prison based programs why is behavioral reinforcement used? This article shows the relation to active involvement with staff and treatment staff along with positive reinforcement and the optimistic outcome with treatment while incarcerated.

5. Garner, T.G.P. "Rehabilitation Of Drug Addicts In A Correctional Setting." British Journal Of Addiction (To Alcohol & Other Drugs) 73.2 (1978): 205-213. Academic Search Premier. Academic Search Premier. 1978. Web. 7 Apr. 2014. Is there a minimal sentence that the criminal justice system deems necessary to impose on any individual for drug treatment while incarcerated? If so, how do they determine the length of stay needed? This article indicates that the time needed in treatment is different for each individual although there is a minimal time needed for the brain to start to recover. Also, they talk about the importance of aftercare once released from jail.

Jail vs. Substance Abuse Treatment

6. Zaro, Dennis. "Teaching Strategies For The Self-Actualized Correctional Educator: The Inside Person Vs. The Outside Person." Journal Of Correctional Education 58.1 (2007): 27-41. Academic Search Premier. Academic Search Premier, Web. 7 Apr. 2014. This article is a very good illustration in the key characteristics of criminal behavior. By identifying these characteristics they are able to focus on developing the individuals cognitive skills. This is essential in implementing a necessary change in their thinking and processing the consequences to their choices.

7. Hkansson, Anders, and Mats Berglund. "Risk Factors For Criminal Recidivism -- A Prospective Follow-Up Study In Prisoners With Substance Abuse." BMC Psychiatry 12.1 (2012): 111-118. Academic Search Premier. Academic Search Premier, Web. 7 Apr. 2014. What are the risk factors for individuals returning to society after being incarcerated? After researching and reading this article it is obvious that there are risk factors upon release and therefore the importance of after-care even when the individual has received intensive therapy while incarcerated.

8. Chris, Bown. Personal interview. 7 April 2014

Jail vs. Substance Abuse Treatment

With many years practicing as a prosecuting attorney for drug court and now a criminal defense attorney, it was very enlightening to interview him personally. With his extensive knowledge to the recidivism rate in the adult detention centers and the correlation with drug use. Also, he has helped me understand the drug court process more clearly and how it works. This information will be extremely helpful in completing my paper.