Specialized courts take the court process to a new level where the criminal justice system is more involved in the process of helping an offender to become someone who makes the changes they need to stop them from reoffending. The reason that they are referred to as specialized courts is that they focus on exactly what the offender needs depending on the crime that they committed. There are different types of courts which can help offenders; an example of this would be if a person was arrested for doing drugs they might be referred to a “drug court (office, 2016).” Specialized courts specifically focus on two outcomes with their work. One is to make sure the case is heard in a quick and organized fashion that allows the regular court system room to pay attention specifically to people that are responsible for committing major crimes. Two is that they use therapy to attempt to stop recidivism by helping people that commit crimes to deal with the issues that led them to that life so that they can change instead of just punishing them by sending them to jail. The offender is able to benefit greatly from this process because the approach is not set on just making sure that they are locked away, it helps them by offering programs that will lead them in a direction that can make them a regular and productive part of society. In turn this same principal can be applied to the benefits that specialized courts have on the community. Simply punishing every offender by putting them in jail does not help the offender to lead a better life. Showing offenders a different and more acceptable way can make them safer to be around people once there punishment is over (office, 2016).
Works Cited
Office, p. (2016). Specialized Courts | National Institute of Justice. National Institute of Justice. Retrieved 23 May 2016, from http://www.nij.gov/topics/courts/pages/specialized-courts.aspx
