The imminent introduction of “therapeutic justice” in Mexico has some legal experts concerned that the door to impunity will be opened a little wider.
Therapeutic justice is an evidence-based approach to law and sentencing that recognizes that a purely punitive approach is not effective in changing behavior and keeping communities safe.
Due to be introduced in Jalisco no later than November 2018, therapeutic justice system will allow non-violent criminals with substance abuse issues to avoid jail sentences on the condition that they enter rehabilitation programs.
In an interview with Spanish-language daily Mural, University of Guadalajara researcher Francisco Jimenez said the procedure could only operate correctly if strict controls are put in place. “If there isn’t an adequate supervision of patients, this is going to be a failure.”
Others fear that the system could be abused and allow people who deserve prison sentences to walk free.
Several nations have experimented with therapeutic justice with mixed success. In the Australian state of Victoria, studies found that 57 percent of participants in the therapeutic justice program had not re-offended – and of those who had re-offended there was a statistically significant reduction in re-offending behaviors. Few studies, however, tie a reduction in overall crime rates to the introduction of therapeutic justice programs.