Recidivism of Individuals Who Completed Schedule I Drugs Deferred Prosecution Treatment: A Population-Based Follow-Up Study from 2008 to 2020 in Taiwan

Deferred Prosecution with Condition to Complete the Addiction Treatment (DPCCAT) is a judicial diversion program in Taiwan that shifts people who use drugs away from the label drug offender and toward the label patient. However, little is known about the effectiveness of completing a DPCCAT program on people who use drugs. Using a nationwide population-based retrospective panel data from 2008 to 2020, recidivism is defined as a person was caught urine positive and charged by a prosecutor after their completion of DPCCAT. After controlled gender, age, and region, comparisons of recidivism rates and time to relapse between Schedule I drug use only, Schedule I & II drug use, and heterogeneous group were examined. Of 24,248 participants with DPCCAT, 11,141 (46%) completed the one-year treatment program. Of completers, the five-year recidivism rates are significantly lower for the Schedule I drug use only (26%) than Schedule I & II drugs use (52%) and heterogeneous group (47%). Results from Cox regression indicated that the duration of recidivate to drug use is significantly longer for the Schedule I drug only than the other two groups after controlling for demographics. The main findings support that completion of a DPCCAT program only reduces the risk of recidivism for people who use Schedule I drug only and is less effective for polydrug users and heterogeneous group. We suggest that characteristics of people who use drugs and other criminal offenses should be taken into consideration for triage when DPCCAT is offered.