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Resolutions Adopted at the
67th Annual Conference of Mayors
New Orleans, Louisiana
June 11-15, 1999 |
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CRIMINAL AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
DRUG COURTS
WHEREAS, drug courts are an alternative approach to the management of
substance-abusing offenders in the criminal-justice system; and
WHEREAS, The U.S. Conference of Mayors supports the successful prosecution of
all criminal violations; and
WHEREAS, because deterrence remains at the core of the criminal-justice system,
drug courts should be structured with performance-based accountability as a key, and
drug-court programs should be considered for appropriate substance-abusing offenders only
when there is a reasonable likelihood of increasing public safety and reducing recidivism;
and
WHEREAS, graduated sanctions, up to and including incarceration and expulsion,
are necessary components to an effective drug-court program; and
WHEREAS, effective drug-court programs often provide more comprehensive and
closer supervision of substance-abusing offenders than other forms of supervision; and
WHEREAS, effective drug courts have been successful in bridging the gap between
the court and the treatment and public-health systems, creating greater cooperation
between agencies, the community, and the criminal-justice system; and
WHEREAS, the judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, treatment and
rehabilitation professionals, law enforcement and corrections personnel, researchers and
educators, national and community leaders and others dedicated to the movement have had a
profound impact through hard work and commitment to their communities; and
WHEREAS, the drug court movement has grown from the 12 original drug courts in
1994 to nearly 400 drug courts nationally, with many more in the planning stages,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that The U.S. Conference of Mayors supports the
establishment and funding of effective and proven drug-court programs as an option that
enhances public safety and helps reduce crime; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that any drug-court program must include prosecutor
leadership and performance-based accountability.
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