During the past 25 years, specialized courts—like drug treatment courts, mental health courts, and community courts—have spread throughout state court systems and have successfully reduced reoffending by combining accountability with help. These courts link offenders with treatment and other services needed to address the underlying problems that bring them to court, while also using enhanced court monitoring to hold offenders accountable and protect public safety. More recently, tribal justice systems have begun experimenting with specialized courts of their own. Healing to Wellness Courts (a tribal variation on the drug court model) are becoming increasingly common in Indian country, and some tribes have launched community courts to address persistent low-level offending, like vandalism, theft, disorderly conduct, assault, and other common crimes.
