(CBS-DETROIT) — A Hazel Park court wants to treat people with substance abuse problems and keep them out of jail.
The Hybrid DUI/Drug Treatment Court is an intensive 18-month program where a judge, probation officer, treatment provider, prosecutor, recovery coach and defense attorney work together to help the offender.
Judge Brian Hartwell of the 43rd District Court in Oakland County says the program is a different method of sentencing.
“The idea is that these are people who need the intensive treatment and supervision that normal probation doesn’t provide,” Hartwell said.
Team meetings that take place during the program allow a judge to act in an unusual manner in a courtroom, Hartwell said.
“We know they will relapse, especially in the first few months,” he said. “So my role is to hold them accountable, but not to be punitive, and that’s why we lean on incentives.”
The program normally lasts 18 months, but can be extended to 24 months if necessary.
Hartwell says offenders who commit another crime after completing the program can do so again.
There are more than 100 treatment courts in Michigan.
In a 2023 report, state officials noted that graduates of adult drug courts were four times less likely to be convicted of a new crime within three years of enrollment.
The report also says that unemployment among sobriety court and drug/sobriety court graduates has dropped by 88%.
