Stiffer sentences? Maybe try something else…
Perhaps society should focus on finding solutions that are demonstrably effective, instead of simply boosting the severity of punishment.
Tag: criminal courts
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A Time for New Ideas
Even those who eventually return to jail or prison may well have made substantial tangible gains from participation in the program. I’m referring to productive employment, education, family stability and support, access to health care (including mental health), as well as significant reduction in criminal activity.
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The Oregon Experiment
We shouldn’t forget that one of the primary traits of the addicted person is referred to as “continued use despite adverse consequences”.
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Police Story, Part Two
How do you find room for new attitudes when the old ones are still omnipresent in the background?
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Police Story, Part One
Given that addiction by its nature puts many treatment clients into direct conflict with the law, I don’t see how we can afford to ignore these issues.
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Recent Events Roundup
Counseling involves staying alert to behavioral cues that can illuminate or even contradict what is said.
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DUI: Running Them Down?
I know the public gets upset when they read that DWI arrests are again climbing, but that’s often a good sign.
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A Case of Drunk Driving
I hate to see drunk driving convictions overturned for procedural errors, because I suspect that eventually, those fatality stats will reverse course and begin to climb again.
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Treatment and Coercion
Those of us who work in treatment quickly sense a problem: people with addictions aren’t likely to respond to this approach.
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Why Zero Tolerance Fails
…as one judge told me at a conference: “no matter how many jails you build, judges will fill them. It’s the easiest way to make this someone else’s problem, instead of ours.”
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Prison as a Strategy
The theory is that the more users we put in jail or prison, the fewer left out on the street. So why hasn’t that substantially reduced arrest and overdose statistics?
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Florida’s Compulsory Treatment Law
Many of those programs treat opioid users without relying on medication, and yet manage to achieve remarkable success rates– sometimes 80% over a five year period.
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