Criminal justice client rehabs can be considered as being a far better option than time in jail or heavy fines for individuals who have been convicted of any sort of alcohol or drug related crime. By way of example, someone who has been in prison for driving while impaired of alcohol or drugs may be eligible to receive rehabilitation services for his or her problem as an alternative to serving time in prison. The judge might even order that the individual receive rehab, either alone or together with other consequences. First-time offenders in particular in many cases are given the ability to select a criminal justice client rehab as opposed to other sentencing, and it is well-advised they reap the benefits of it when it is a choice. The idea behind criminal justice client rehabs is that it is way more efficient and effective to invest commitment into rehab 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 treatment. The signs and indicators seem to be quite positive, and criminal justice clients that do experience treatment have better chance of remaining out of the system following rehabilitation.