Criminal justice client rehabs can be considered being a considerably better option than prison time or significant fines for many who have been convicted of any sort 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 treatment services for his or her problem rather than serving time in prison. The judge could even order the individual receive rehab, either alone or in addition to other consequences. First time offenders specifically will often be given the opportunity go with a criminal justice client rehab as an alternative to other sentencing, and it is highly recommended they take advantage of it when it is a choice. The theory behind criminal justice client rehabs is that it is much more efficient and effective to invest time and energy into rehabilitation than punishment. Much research has been done to find out how effective this process is on recidivism rates, i.e. if the individual returns or not to criminal justice system following rehab. The signs and indicators seem quite positive, and criminal justice clients that take part in rehab have a much better possibility of remaining out of the judicial system following rehab.