Drug Courts

This chapter first reviews the relationship between substance abuse and criminal justice involvement, followed by a discussion of the history and development of drug courts, with a specific focus on their features, operations, and key components. The authors then discuss the extensive research on the effectiveness of drug courts, focusing primarily on outcomes of recidivism and substance use. Given the large body of research on drug courts, there is a great deal of data on the correlates and predictors of success in drug courts; the authors provide a summary of the key factors related to drug court success. They also mention the limitations in the extant research and note how future studies can address these shortcomings. The authors then discuss a newer drug court model—juvenile drug courts—with a focus on their key features and effectiveness. Finally, after discussing best practices in the development and operation of drug courts, “next steps” are proposed.