| Research Abstract |
We conclude by our research about therapeutic community (TC) and drug courts (DC) for these three years, in total more than ten years, that we also have to introduce a diversion program as a scheme of TC & DC in Japan. In order to accomplish this task, we, judicial, medical or welfare actors, have together to recognize the following: (1) that an addict should take part in his/her treatment as a subject to recover from his/her own addiction, (2) the support for addicts should be given not only by criminal justice system but also NGOs and community service, and (3) his/her relapse means not a failure, but rather one step in his/her recovery process.
We published one book, Ishizuka, S.[eds.], Japanese Drug Court : From Punishment to Treatment, 2007, Nihon-hyoron : Tokyo, as a result of our academic efforts, and presented at some symposiums and academic congresses. In the meantime, the government is preparing to introduce bills related to the management in prisons and the reform of community treatment. Several practitioners, theoreticians and policy makers are interested in our concept.
We found, however, some unsolved problems and tasks, for example: (1) to scrutinize judicial institutions, (2) to estimate social costs around solving problems of drug addiction, (3) to design effective treatment programs to rehabilitate addicts, and (4) to construct a network of public and civil agencies. We will continue to research practically and theoretically to realize our concept.
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