The one-year community supervision performance of drug offenders and Louisiana DOC-identified substance abusers graduating from shock incarceration

Since the late 1980s there has been an increasing number of advocates for shock incarceration (SI) or boot-camp programs. One reason is that it has been suggested that these programs may provide a general rehabilitative environment for treating substance abusers. In this study two categories of drug- involved offenders were examined: 1) offenders having a legal drug history and 2) offenders identified by the division of probation and parole in the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections as drug abusers who were in need of community substance abuse counseling. The study found that successful completion of the SI program was unrelated to the drug involvement of offenders. During one year of community supervision, drug-involved offenders were more likely than others to have a positive drug screen. While the total sample of drug-involved offenders was no more likely to have one or more drug arrests, they were more likely to have one or more total arrests and to be jailed or revoked during one year of community supervision. In contrast, offenders having only a legal drug history were less likely than others to have one or more total arrests and to be jailed or revoked during that time. Perhaps most importantly, SI as a treatment was unrelated to performance during one year of community supervision.