Criminal justice client rehabs are available as a significantly better option than time in jail or significant fines for those who have been convicted of any kind of drug or alcohol related crime. As an example, someone who has been in prison for driving drunk of drugs or alcohol may be eligible to obtain rehab services because of their problem as opposed to serving time in prison. The judge might even order the individual receive rehabilitation, either alone or along with other consequences. Very first time offenders specifically will often be given the ability to choose a criminal justice client rehab rather than other sentencing, and it is well-advised they take advantage of it if it's an alternative. The theory behind criminal justice client rehabs is that it is much more efficient and effective to invest time and effort into treatment than punishment. Much research has been done to find out how effective this approach is on recidivism rates, i.e. if the individual returns or not to criminal justice system following treatment. All indicators seem quite positive, and criminal justice clients that do experience rehab have a much better potential for remaining out of the judicial system after rehabilitation.