Citation

Warner TD, Kramer JH. Crim. Justice Behav. 2009; 36(1): 89-109.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0093854808326743

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The criminal justice system is often viewed as a revolving door for drug-dependent offenders due to its failure to recognize the association between addiction and offending, and repeated incarceration of drug-dependent offenders has contributed to prison overcrowding. The authors evaluated the effectiveness of Pennsylvania's drug and alcohol treatment-based intermediate punishment, Restrictive Intermediate Punishments (RIP/D&A), at reducing the risk of rearrest. Rearrest was compared at 12, 24, and 36 months postrelease. Offenders who successfully completed treatment had a lower risk of rearrest than traditionally sentenced offenders in general and county jail and probation offenders specifically. However, offenders sentenced to RIP/D&A who did not successfully complete treatment were more at risk for rearrest than traditionally sentenced offenders in general. Also, offenders sentenced to state incarceration had a lower risk of rearrest than RIP/D&A participants, regardless of program completion.