Critical Analysis of the Criminal Justice System

Research Paper on Best Practices for Specialty Courts 

Background: We have read about and discussed the pervasive impact that the use of controlled dangerous substances (CDS) / illicit drugs has had on your community, not only as it relates to high addiction levels, but also to its direct correlation with the commission of other crimes. 

Assignment: The objective of this assignment is to evaluate the purpose and effectiveness of a specialty court known as Drug Court. Drug Court can, by the use of individually tailored treatment modalities controlled by the court and strict compliance features, reduce individual drug reliance and overall rates of recidivism. Some studies show success, while others show the overall cost of such courts to be grossly disproportionate to their degree of success.

Students are to use library resources to find at least three journal articles relating to the effectiveness of Drug Court. The submitted paper must be a minimum of five pages of 12-point font (Arial or Times New Roman only), double-spaced type, not including cover page and bibliography. Resources must be reflected in a bibliography, using APA citation rules.  

Paper Formatting Requirements:

• Cover page: Include the title of the paper, your name, the class title, and date of submission.
• Section 1 — Introduction: Make an introductory statement about the topic of your paper. What point are you attempting to make, provide, or discover? Provide the purpose of the paper.
• Section 2: Summarize the main points of the three articles.
• Section 3: Compare and contrast the three articles. Do they reach the same conclusion? How are they alike? How do they differ? How does the text deal with the topics as discussed in the articles? What conclusions are reached in the three articles?
• Section 4 - Conclusion: Based on your analysis of the articles and their conclusions, along with the text, do you believe drug courts are an effective use of resources, decrease incarceration rates and reduce overall recidivism rates?
• References: References must be correctly cited in APA format.