Criminal justice client rehabs can be considered like a considerably better option than prison time or heavy fines for individuals who have already been convicted of any type of drug or alcohol related crime. For instance, someone who has been in prison for dui of alcohol or drugs may be eligible to get rehabilitation services for his or her problem rather than serving time in prison. The judge might even order the individual receive rehab, either alone or as well as other consequences. First-time offenders in particular in many cases are given the opportunity choose a criminal justice client rehab as opposed to other sentencing, and it is highly recommended that they benefit from it when it is a possibility. The idea behind criminal justice client rehabs is that it is far more efficient and effective to invest time and energy into treatment than punishment. Much research has been done 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. The signs and indicators appear to be quite positive, and criminal justice clients that do experience rehabilitation have a better possibility of remaining out of the system after rehab.