Criminal justice clients are a significant percentage of clients who are currently taking part in alcohol and drug rehabilitation centers in Jefferson and across the nation. Judges in the U.S. often find it more effective to rehabilitate people who have wound up in the criminal justice system for crimes relating to drugs, instead of punishing them to no avail with time in jail and other penalties. It has proven more helpful to tackle the problem of addiction directly, rather than enforce such penalties. Most individuals who do not make their way to alcohol and drug treatment will often wind back up in the criminal justice hamster wheel, while criminal justice clients in drug and alcohol rehabilitation frequently don't fall back into drug use and have a much better chance at staying abstinent and away from the court system completely.