Thank you.
My name is Doug Brady and I am the Executive Director of the Edmonton Drug Treatment and Community Restoration Court, as we are called, and also the Interim National Director for the Canadian Association of Drug Treatment Court Professionals.
The Canadian Association of Drug Treatment Court Professionals is a recently incorporated organization dedicated to the development and sustainability of drug treatment courts in Canada, and it demonstrates this effectiveness through a comprehensive and consistent national evaluation. I'm going to tell you a little bit about the organization, or the origin of drug courts.
The first drug court began in Dade County, Miami, in 1989 as a result of drug addicts repeatedly coming before the court system—also known as a revolving door system—and overburdening the jail system. What they found was that under the traditional court system, drug addicts continued to commit crime and never adequately dealt with their drug addiction. Traditional treatment, court, and correctional methods did not show success. They found a solution by combining drug treatment with the structure and authority of a judge. Working as a team, they were able to effect lasting change in the lifestyle and behaviour of drug court participants.
Since 1989 drug courts have grown in the U.S. to over 2,369—that's as of October 2009—of which over 1,250 are adult drug courts. In 2009 President Obama increased funding to the U.S. drug courts by 250%, and he is allocating $103 million in the coming year. This was preceded by a 50% increase the year before by the Bush administration.
The first drug treatment court outside the United States began in December 1998 in Toronto, and since then more than 27 programs have been implemented in 10 countries worldwide. Apart from the six federally funded drug treatment courts, there are three other drug treatment courts that operate independently, and they have their funding from various sources. That would include Durham, Calgary, and Moose Jaw, which has one person in their program at the present time.
Drug treatment courts operate under what is called therapeutic justice. It is a program that provides intensive treatment and services for participants who need to get and remain clean and sober. We regularly randomly test for drug use, often once a week, or more times depending on the person's need. We hold each participant accountable by the drug treatment court judge for meeting their obligations to the court, society, themselves, and their families. It requires participants to appear in court frequently so that the judge may review their progress, and it rewards participants for doing well or sanctions them when they do not live up to their obligations.
How effective are drug treatment courts? Only 11.6% of those who complete the drug treatment court program run into trouble again with the law. That's a Canadian statistic from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. Break-even analysis showed that to provide a net economic benefit to the wider society, only 8% of offenders seen by the courts would need to stop taking drugs for five years or more following the completion of their sentence, and only 14% in order to provide a net economic benefit to the criminal justice system. Many of our statistics come from the U.S. because they've been operating now for over 20 years. So when I'm quoting some statistics from here on in, it will be from the U.S. statistics. They have learned how drug courts work and they're constantly reviving their programs and making sure they get the best information out there.
In February 2005 the Government Accountability Office issued its third report on the effects of adult criminal drug courts. Although upfront costs for drug courts were generally higher than for probation, drug courts were found to be more cost-effective in the long run because they avoided law enforcement efforts, judicial case processing, and victimization resulting from future criminal activity. In Canada, those who participate in drug treatment courts would not be eligible for probation as a court disposition. The same extensive review of drug courts concluded that adult drug court programs substantially reduce crime by lowering rearrest and conviction rates among drug court graduates well after program completion.
In recent years researchers have continued to uncover definitive evidence for both the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of drug courts. The most rigorous and conservative estimate of the effect of any program is derived from meta-analysis in which scientists statistically average the effects of the program over numerous research studies. Four independent meta-analyses have now concluded that drug courts significantly reduce crime rates on an average of approximately seven to fourteen percentage points. In some evaluations, the effects on crime were as high as 35 percentage points.
Importantly, the effects were greatest for high-risk offenders who had more severe criminal histories and drug problems. This suggests that drug courts may be best suited for the most incorrigible and drug-addicted offenders who cannot be safely or effectively managed in the community or on standard probation. Some of the statistics from Canada include that 50% to 60% of the crime is done by 15% of the offenders.
One of the facts from the National Association of Drug Court Professionals is that unless drug-addicted offenders are regularly supervised by a judge and held accountable, 70% drop out of treatment prematurely. Drug courts are six times more likely to keep offenders on treatment long enough for them to get better. For every $1 invested in drug courts, taxpayers save as much as $3.36 in avoided criminal justice costs alone. When considering other cost offsets, such as savings from reduced victimization and health care service utilization, studies have shown benefits up to $12 for every $1 invested. Drug courts produce cost savings ranging from $4,000 to $12,000 per client. These cost savings reflect reduced prison costs, reduced revolving-door arrests and trials, and reduced victimization.
For methamphetamine-addicted people, drug courts increase treatment program graduation rates by nearly 80%. When compared to eight other programs, drug courts quadrupled the number in terms of abstinence from methamphetamine. Drug courts reduce methamphetamine use by more than 50% compared to outpatient treatment alone.
That's my presentation. I will be open to questions.