Criminal justice client rehabs are available as a considerably better option than prison time or significant fines for many who have been convicted of any kind of drug or alcohol related crime. For example, somebody who has been in prison for driving drunk of drugs or alcohol may qualify to obtain treatment services for his or her problem instead of serving time in prison. The judge might even order that the individual receive rehab, either alone or along with other consequences. First-time offenders specifically in many cases are given the opportunity to go with a criminal justice client rehab as opposed to other sentencing, and it is highly recommended they take advantage of it if it's a possibility. The idea behind criminal justice client rehabs is that it is way more efficient and effective to invest effort and time into rehabilitation than punishment. Much research has been done to see how effective this process is on recidivism rates, i.e. if the criminal justice client returns or not to criminal justice system following treatment. All indicators appear to be quite positive, and criminal justice clients who experience treatment have better potential for remaining out of the judicial system following treatment.