Studies Show Courts Reduce Recidivism, but DOJ Could Enhance Future Performance Measure Revision Efforts

December 1, 2011 The federal Government Accountability Office (GAO) assessed data from the federal Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) about the performance of adult drug court programs. The GAO also reviewed evaluations of 32 drug-court programs and 11 cost-benefit studies released between February 2004 and March 2011. GAO found that the data indicated that drug courts reduced participant recidivism, but that accurate comparisons were difficult because outcome data reporting was not standardized. GAO recommended that BJA document methods used to guide future revisions of its performance measures for the adult drug court program. Download the Report . . .