Integrating Criminal Justice, Treatment and Community Agencies to Break Cycle

Source: (2002) Corrections Today. 64(5): 78.

For decades federal government agencies have conducted research to document the nature and extent of the relationship between drug use and criminal behavior. The authors of this article provide an overview of the drugs-crime relationship, as well as a review of research on effective treatment interventions that break the cyclical nature of the relationship. In the course of the article, they discuss opportunities and challenges in integrating criminal justice, treatment, and community services within a framework of “balanced and restorative justiceâ€? (BARJ). In a BARJ approach, response to crime involves balancing and pursuing three major goals: community safety; offender accountability; and offender reintegration into society.