Criminal justice client rehabs can be considered like a significantly better option than incarceration or significant fines for many who have been convicted of any kind of alcohol or drug related crime. For example, a person who has been found guilty of driving drunk of alcohol or drugs may be eligible for treatment services for their problem as opposed to serving time in prison. The judge might even order the individual receive rehab, either alone or together with other consequences. First time offenders specifically in many cases are given the chance to choose a criminal justice client rehab as an alternative to other sentencing, and it is well-advised they benefit from it if it's a choice. The theory behind criminal justice client rehabs is that it is way more efficient and effective to invest time and energy into rehab than punishment. Much research has been done to see how effective this approach is on recidivism rates, i.e. if the criminal justice client returns or not to criminal justice system following rehab. The signs and indicators seem to be quite positive, and criminal justice clients that do experience rehabilitation have a better probability of remaining out of the system after treatment.