Criminal justice client rehabs can be considered being a far better option than prison time or significant fines for many who have already been convicted of any type of drug or alcohol related crime. As an example, somebody who has been in prison for driving drunk of alcohol or drugs may qualify to get treatment services for his or her problem as an alternative to serving time in prison. The judge may even order the individual receive treatment, either alone or as well as other consequences. First-time offenders specifically are often given the opportunity select a criminal justice client rehab as an alternative to other sentencing, and it is highly recommended that they benefit from it if it is a choice. The theory 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 criminal justice client returns or not to criminal justice system following rehabilitation. The signs and indicators seem quite positive, and criminal justice clients that do experience rehab have a better potential for remaining out of the system following rehabilitation.