Saturday, November 27, 2004

Diverted drug offenders likely to relapse, UCLA finds / [USA] Mercury News, 26 Nov 2004

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/northern_california/10277072.htm
"Drug offenders sent to treatment instead of jail in the early days of California's Proposition 36 were far more likely to be re-arrested than were criminals sent to rehabilitation through other diversion programs, says a UCLA study released Friday.
The findings by University of California, Los Angeles, researchers echo opponents of the initiative approved by 61 percent of voters in November 2000. Judges and prosecutors favored drug court programs that include stronger penalties for offenders who skip or fail treatment programs, while Proposition 36 requires that first- and second-time nonviolent drug offenders be sent to treatment programs instead of prison."