Criminal justice clients are a large portion of clientele who are currently taking part in drug rehab programs in San Diego and across the nation. Judicial systems in the U.S. often find it more helpful to treat individuals who have wound up in the court system for drug related crimes, instead of penalizing them in vain with time in jail and other penalties. It has proven more successful to address the problem of addiction directly, rather than invoke such penalties. Most who do not wind up in drug and alcohol treatment will frequently turn right back up in the criminal justice hamster wheel, while criminal justice clients in drug treatment often don't make the same mistakes and have a better chance at remaining abstinent and out of the court system completely.