Dowden et al., (2013) stated that relapse prevention should be applied no only with drug users, but relapse prevention should also be applied within the treatment of the general offender populations whenever possible. Historically, relapse prevention has been used with substance abusers, sexual offenders, and bi-polar individuals. Thus, Dowden et al., (2013) is stating that relapse prevention when applied to the treatment of drug dealers could be effective in reducing recidivism. Relapse prevention may possibly be able to alter the drug dealers perceptions of their reward system, allow drug dealers to learn skills that will allow them to recognize high-risk situations, solve problems and learn skills to cope with monetary issues rather than …show more content…
Relapse prevention has been able to become included into the treatment models of how to effectively teach drug offenders skills that can assist them in the development of positive self talk, self reinforcement, cognitive restructuring, and various forms of strategies that would allow those addicted to drugs to remain sober (Laws, 2003). In the future combining relapse prevention with medications such as vivitrol or Naltrexone to treat substance abuse leads to improved outcomes as compared with either relapse prevention or medication assisted treatment alone provides (Larimer et al., 1999). Relapse prevention has been proven to reduce an offender’s propensity to relapse by teaching offenders pro-social skills that will allow them to avoid and escape high risk situations. Most importantly, according to the evidence from the study, we are now able to suggest that the reduction in the drug offender’s odds of recidivism is enhanced when paired with post treatment after care type programs after the offender has completed initial treatment and been released from community supervision (Belenko et al., 2004). Therefore, is becoming obvious that relapse prevention can be considered and effective method of treatment for both the drug dealer and drug user
Within our society, there is a gleaming stigma against the drug addicted. We have been taught to believe that if someone uses drugs and commits a crime they should be locked away and shunned for their lifetime. Their past continues to haunt them, even if they have changed their old addictive ways. Everyone deserves a second chance at life, so why do we outcast someone who struggles with this horrible disease? Drug addiction and crime can destroy lives and rip apart families. Drug courts give individuals an opportunity to repair the wreckage of their past and mend what was once lost. Throughout this paper, I will demonstrate why drug courts are more beneficial to an addict than lengthy prison sentences.
Greg is an individual who has experienced a traumatic event while being intoxicated while being on the job. Greg was a paramedic and had come to a bad accident where a five-year-old boy was injured. The young boy had several injuries and Greg was responsible for providing him with the proper care. The unfortunate part is that Greg was intoxicated while on the job and he was not thinking clearly while making decisions involving the boys care; as a result, the boy’s death could have been prevented. This event turned Greg’s life upside down, this never would have happened if Greg would not have been intoxicated while being on the job.
Once these individuals in rehab serve there sentence the majority of them, won’t look straight to the next opportunity to get high, but the next opportunity for a better future after being encouraged in rehab to accomplish something in life, compared to someone’s attitude coming out of prison. One story involved a man named Richard with his wife Marcia. She was an addict who was often jailed for it, but Anthony believed like many others that “addiction can be overcome with proper help. He believed that the solution was to get her into a mental hospital [and] get her whatever she needs – Xanax, morphine, to get her chemical imbalance right. Show her some respect. (114)” Give her some working skills, so once she gets out she is capable of being successful but instead she kept getting “kicked down the steps” by the criminal justice system. The jailing and torture of addicts is routine to people serving cases for drug related offenses, who are often not built to endure prison, let alone jail. “The Justice Department estimates that 216,000 people are raped in these prisons every year. (This is the number of rapes, not the number of rapes – that is much higher.) (109)” This is ultimately shows the simple fact that many people are not built to endure
Wormith, J. S., Althouse, R., Simpson, M., Reitzel, L. R., Fagan, T. J., & Morgan, R. D. (2007). The rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders: The current landscape and some future directions for correctional psychology. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 34(7), 879-892.
(2010). Factors associated with treatment compliance and its effects on retention among participants in a court mandated treatment program. Contemporary Drug Problems, 37(2), 289-319.
In the New York Times article, “Safety and Justice Complement Each Other,” by Glenn E. Martin, the author informs, “The Vera Institute for Justice found a 36 percent recidivism rate for individuals who had completed alternative drug programs in New York City, compared with 54 sentenced to prison, jail, probation or time served.” Alternative programs are more likely to inhibit future criminal acts, while incarceration seems to lack long-lasting effects on individuals. In continuance, the author adds that 3 percent of treatment participants were rearrested for violent crimes, while 6 percent of untreated criminals were rearrested for violent crimes. Diversion programs are able to treat one’s motivation for their criminal acts, rather than assuming that illegal habits will go away with time. Instead of sending nonviolent offenders to jail, legislators should consider introducing practical
Research studies have shown that a comprehensive aftercare program can substantially increase a client’s chances of success in recovery.
Pearson, F. S., Lipton, D. S., Clel & Yee, D. S. (2002). The effects of behavioral/cognitive-behavioral programs on recidivism. Crime & delinquency, 48 (3), pp. 476--496.
This experience helped me to recognize the internal struggle that a substance abuser faces on a continuous basis. In addition, I know that an individual can have a difficult time changing their behavior even when they have a strong desire to change; the smallest thing can cause a person to relapse.
Right now in the United States there are over 2 million people incarcerated in the country’s prisons and jails. Out of this population about one-quarter of these inmates have been convicted of a drug offense. With drug offense arrests increasing nationwide and the prison population increasing there is an alternative to incarceration has been used over the past two decades in many cities across the country. This alternative is in the form of local drug courts that are now found in most major cities in the United States. A drug court is a specialized court in which the judge, prosecutor, public defender or private attorney, probation officers, and treatment counselors work together to help chemically dependent offenders obtain needed treatment and rehabilitation in an attempt to break the cycle of addiction and further criminal offenses. Some argue that treatment rather than incarceration is a waste of time and valuable resources that could be used elsewhere. Research however has shown that court ordered treatment is the best option for drug offenders. Treatments through drug court has proven to be less expensive than incarceration and has also been shown to reduce crime and provide a lower relapse and re-arrest rate for offenders that are placed in drug courts as opposed to those that are not.
Substance abuse is a grim issue that affects the Canadian inmate population; it can be defined as overindulgence in or dependence on an addictive substance, especially alcohol or drugs. Within Canada, 80% of offenders entering the federal prison system are identified as having a substance abuse problem; this goes beyond mere indication of tougher drug legislation, it uncovers further discrepancy. Due to the immense majority of offenders affected by this complex mental illness, in addition to varied levels of individual cognitive ability. Consequently conventional abstinence-based treatment methods may not benefit all offenders. Untreated, this dynamic risk factor precursor’s future offending, as a study reveals dependency on illegal drugs is the single most serious risk for repeated offending. It has been established substance control is a far more feasible short term goal than outright eradication. With this ideology, the premise of one’s analysis will be on substance abuse control methodologies, gauging effectiveness and overall success in achieving its purpose.
The repeated use of drugs often causes both physical and psychological dependence, as mentioned in an article by the Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (“Drug Dependence”). In order for an individual to truly be set free from their addiction, seeking treatment is necessary. Rehab centers are a great place with scientifically proven methods to cure those addicted to drugs. It is important to try to end drug use in our country, rather than allowing it to continue longer than it already has. While funding for rehabilitation facilities could become an issue, drug users may continue their addiction without proper treatment, and therefore those arrested for drug use should be sent to a rehabilitation center instead of prison.
Silverman, K., Roll, J., & Higgins, S. (2008). Introduction to the Special Issue on the Behavior Analysis and Treatment of Drug Addiction. Journal of Applied behavior Analysis, 41(4), 471-480. Retrieved June 12, 2011, from the proquest.com.navigator-ship.passhe.edu database.
These principles have common features that help reduce recidivism based on meta-findings and meta-analyses obtained from hundreds of studies. It’s imperative to point out the fact that the “what works” movement has registered massive success on the basis of assessment and rehabilitation of criminals in nearly every criminal justice system around the world, especially in the United States (Cullen & Gendreau, 2011). This paper is an analysis of the aforementioned principles of effective intervention, particularly their implications and the effectiveness of each principle.
Drug addiction is a very big problem in today’s society. Many people have had their lives ruined due to drug addiction. The people that use the drugs don’t even realize that they have an addiction. They continue to use the drug not even realizing that their whole world is crashing down around them. Drug addicts normally lose their family and friends due to drug addiction.