Recidivism Among Drug Offenders Following Exposure to Treatment

The contemporary debate about punishment versus treatment for drug-using criminal offenders often revolves around the pragmatic issue of the extent to which treatment is more effective than punishment at reducing the probability of subsequent criminal behavior. Although there is growing evidence that treatment works, it is equally apparent that the effects of exposure to treatment vary by offender characteristics, offense characteristics, and the degree of program involvement. Using data on 3,328 drug-using offenders eligible for diversion from prosecution to a community treatment program, multivariate survival models indicate significant differences in the time of rearrest during a 5-year follow-up period, suggesting that the act of entering treatment is a signal of the offender’s readiness for treatment and that the time to rearrest is affected by exposure to treatment. The findings are discussed in terms of current efforts to use the threat of legal sanction to motivate criminal offenders into drug treatment.