Criminal justice responses to drug offences: Recidivism following the application of alternative sanctions in Belgium

Drug offences require adequate responses from the criminal justice system. In most Western European countries, including Belgium, the use of judicial alternative sanctions for drug users is on the increase. The objective of the current research was to examine the effects of judicial alternatives for drug users in Belgium. The design of this study comprises a pre and post measurement of the criminal activity, drug use and situation in different spheres of life of 565 drug-dependent offenders. Reduced offending was observed following the application of alternative sanctions. On average, the research subjects incurred fewer criminal charges and convictions after the judicial alternative than prior to it. In addition, their involvement in drug offences, property and violent crime decreased. This covaries with a remarkable reduction in problematic drug use and an improvement in other aspects of their life-including more supportive social relations and prosocial leisure time.