Criminal justice client rehabs can be considered as a considerably better option than incarceration or heavy fines for many who have been convicted of any sort of drug or alcohol related crime. As an example, someone who has been in prison for driving drunk of alcohol or drugs may be eligible for treatment services for his or her problem as an alternative to serving time in jail. The judge might even order that the individual receive treatment, either alone or along with other consequences. First-time offenders in particular in many cases are given the chance to pick a criminal justice client rehab as an alternative to other sentencing, and it is highly recommended that they take advantage of it when it is an alternative. The theory behind criminal justice client rehabs is that it is much more efficient and effective to invest effort and time into rehab than punishment. Much research has been completed to see how effective this strategy is on recidivism rates, i.e. if the criminal justice client returns or not to criminal justice system following rehabilitation. All indicators seem quite positive, and criminal justice clients who do experience rehabilitation have a better probability of remaining out of the system following treatment.