Criminal justice client rehabs can be considered like a far better option than jail time or significant fines for those who have been convicted of any sort of drug or alcohol related crime. For instance, someone who has been in prison for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs may be eligible to obtain treatment services because of their problem instead of serving time in prison. The judge could even order that the individual receive treatment, either alone or in addition to other sentencing. First-time offenders specifically in many cases are given the opportunity choose a criminal justice client rehab instead of other sentencing, and it is highly recommended they benefit from it if it's an alternative. The theory behind criminal justice client rehabs is it is way more effective and efficient to invest time and energy into treatment than punishment. Much research has been carried out to observe how effective this approach is on recidivism rates, i.e. if the individual returns or not to criminal justice system following treatment. All indicators appear to be quite positive, and criminal justice clients who do take part in rehabilitation have a better probability of remaining out of the judicial system following rehab.