Strafford County Drug Court (603)749-0832 Fax: (603)740-2955 |
Following a year-long pilot program, the Strafford County Drug Treatment Court commenced full-operations on January 19, 2006 after securing a Department of Justice grant for 3 years. The drug court is a specialty court program that connects non-violent, felony-level, substance-abusing offenders and NH State Prison Parolees who meet the same criteria, sentenced out of Strafford County Superior Court, to an integrated system of intensive alcohol and drug treatment in the community, combined with case management, strict court supervision and progressive incentives and sanctions. By linking participants to treatment services, the program aims to address offender’s addiction issues that led to criminal behavior, thereby reducing recidivism, and protecting public safety. The drug court is designed to be a 12-month alternative sentencing program, divided into three phases, and followed by one year of probation. The drug court held steady with a range of enrollment between 40 and 55 participants and graduated 39 participants from the program and will have more than 50 graduates by the end of 2009. The drug court also opened its doors to high-end Misdemeanor level offenses that would otherwise warrant a jail sentence. The Strafford County Drug Treatment Court was the first adult drug court in NH.
As of August of 2009 the drug court has 56 participants and 5 graduates being supervised in their final year or probation.