When successful, treatment further reduces the criminal justice costs by breaking the pattern of recidivism that brings typical substance abusers back into the criminal justice system again and again. Research on criminal-justice involved populations suggests that substance abuse treatment can be effective in reducing substance abuse and criminal activity while the client is in treatment and for some time thereafter. The general conclusion of more than fifteen years of research on the effects of alcohol and drug treatment is that treatment works. This belief is particularly common among those who work with addicts in the criminal justice system, where relapse to drug use coincides with a return to criminal activity. However, clinical experience does not support this perception.
Addiction is a chronic relapsing disorder.
Eighteen percent of alcoholics remain abstinent during the 6 months following treatment. Gorski, Kelley, and Havens, p. 3. Several substances, including opiates, cocaine, and alcohol, have particularly high relapse rates, with the majority of clients relapsing within one year following treatment. Relapse prevention teaches offenders techniques and skills to help them identify and overcome their own individual triggers to relapse. Peters, p. 18.