Criminal justice client rehabs can be considered as a significantly better option than prison time or significant fines for those who have been convicted of any kind of alcohol or drug related crime. For instance, someone who has been in prison for driving drunk of alcohol or drugs may be eligible to receive rehabilitation services for problem as opposed to serving time in jail. The judge could even order the individual receive rehab, either alone or along with other consequences. First-time offenders specifically will often be given the opportunity go with a criminal justice client rehab instead of other sentencing, and it is well-advised that they make the most of it when it is a possibility. The idea behind criminal justice client rehabs is that it is way more efficient and effective to invest effort and time into treatment than punishment. Much research has been done to observe how effective this approach is on recidivism rates, i.e. if the individual returns or not to criminal justice system following treatment. The signs and indicators seem to be quite positive, and criminal justice clients that take part in rehab have a better potential for remaining out of the system after treatment.