The Impact of an Indiana (United States) Drug Court on Criminal Recidivism

Abstract

This study evaluated a drug court located in a metropolitan area of Indiana (United States), focusing specifically on identifying variables that predicted recidivism among drug court participants and comparing criminal recidivism patterns among drug court and probation participants. Drug court participants were most likely to recidivate if they were younger, had a violation within the first 30 days of the program, had a previous criminal record, and were terminated unsuccessfully from the program. Furthermore, drug court participants were less likely to recidivate than probationers who had similar offense and demographic characteristics. Implications for drug court practice, policy advocacy, and future research are discussed.