title: Los Angeles County drug court programs: initial results.
abstract: Los Angeles County established its first drug court program in 1994 in response to escalating criminal activity associated with substance abuse and overcrowded jails. This paper describes results of an evaluation of 803 drug court participants admitted to the program between 1994 and 1997. Of all drug court participants, 76% remained free of any new arrests throughout the one-year followup period, compared to 63% of participants in a drug diversion education program and 49% of the felony defendants not exposed to either program. Of offenders completing the drug court program 80% had no arrests, compared to 67% for non-completers. Drug related re-arrests were significantly lower among drug court graduates (13%) than offenders with no program participation (30%). The study results suggest that drug court participation and graduation decrease the likelihood of repeated arrests, including drug-related arrests. Drug courts represent a promising collaboration between criminal justice and public health agencies.
authors.affiliation: Los Angeles County, Department of Health Services, 313 North Figueroa Street, Room 806, Los Angeles, CA 90012, USA. Jfielding@dhs.co.la.ca.us
authors.forename: Jonathan E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Fielding
authors.forename: Grace
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tye
authors.forename: Patrick L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.forename: Iraj J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Imam
authors.forename: Anna M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Long
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003156:Community Mental Health Services; D003415:Crime / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000517:prevention & control; D004335:Drug and Narcotic Control / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000517:prevention & control; D015141:Los Angeles; D008297:Male; D037141:Mandatory Programs; D010349:Patient Compliance; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012008:Recurrence; D018570:Risk Assessment; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D016019:Survival Analysis