Loading ...Florida Drug Courts Celebrate 20 Year Anniversary
Many drug offenders in the Tampa area have the opportunity to participate in a treatment-based drug court. There are drug court programs in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Manatee and Sarasota counties – as well as throughout Florida. In fact, the first drug court in the United States was started in Miami 20 years ago this spring.
Back in 1989, Dade County responded to a federal mandate to reduce the inmate population or suffer the loss of federal funding with the first drug court. A Florida Supreme Court investigation determined that a majority of state prison inmates were incarcerated on drug charges and could not escape the system due to drug addiction.
Drug courts were created to combine treatment services with the criminal justice system. Since 1989, the number of drug courts has grown to over 2,300 across the country.
The National Association of Drug Court Professionals believes that 70 of people referred to drug courts successfully complete treatment a year or more later and 75% of drug court graduates are never arrested again.
In drug court programs, a judge typically monitors offenders for 12 to 24 months as they receive intensive treatment and other services. They are held accountable by the judge, must complete treatment, take regular, random drug tests and appear frequently in court for progress reviews.
In Hillsborough County, the 13th Judicial Circuit has juvenile drug court, two different adult drug court opportunities and a family dependency drug court which focuses on helping drug-addicted adults reunite with their children through treatment and other appropriate services.
The 6th Judicial Circuit (Pinellas County and Pasco County) and the 12th Judicial Circuit (Manatee County and Sarasota County) have similar drug court programs to help those with drug problems get their lives back on track without going to prison.