Drug Courts

Drug courts are supervised judicial entities that specifically deal with nonviolent drug offenses. The purpose of these courts is to accommodate recovery and restoration of the offenders to make them productive members of society.

Assignment Guidelines

• Address the following in 6–10 pages:
• What are the specific goals of drug courts? Explain.
• When is a person tried at a drug court? Explain.
• Find a drug court in a municipality or with a drug court.
  • What types of agencies are involved in this drug court? Explain
    • What is the reason for each of the types of agency involvement? Explain.
  • What methods and techniques does this drug court use for supervision, treatment, and graduation? Explain.
  • What specific types of offenses seem to be most common in this court? Explain.
  • What special programs are in place to ensure the success of this court? Explain in detail.
• Are drug courts effective? Use research to support your response.

The typical undercover operation is known as a buy and bust. That means that an undercover officer buys the drugs from the dealer and then arrests the seller. Or, the officer could do just the opposite by posing as a drug dealer and arresting the drug users after a purchase. That is known as a reverse sting, or a sell and bust. Undercover operations may include wiretaps, inspection of all legal records and documents (in which legal channels must be followed), and surveillance.

Assignment Guidelines

• In 5–6 paragraphs, address the following:
  • Do you consider a “buy and bust” or a “sell and bust” entrapment? Why or why not?
    • What types of offenders do you think are most susceptible to these strategies? Explain.
  • If drugs were legalized, operations such as the buy and bust would no longer apply. Generally speaking, do you feel that drugs should be legalized? Why or why not?
    • What effect might legalization have on our children and families? Explain.
    • What positive or negative effects might it have on the United States? Explain.
    • What effect would it have on U.S. borders? Explain.
  • What challenges would legalization pose to law enforcement strategies? Explain.