mandated to do so by court order or a plea agreement. Thus, researchers contend that "legal coercion" is a form of outside pressure that, like other outside pressures such as family and employers, can motivate criminal offenders and encourage them to change their behavior (Young & Belenko, 2002, p. 297).
Researchers point out that legal pressure often works as a precursor to the offender's internal desire to change. On other occasions, the legal pressure may increase the offender's already internalized, but minimal, desire to seek treatment (Young & Belenko, 2002, p. 297). However, criminologists and sociologists admit that more research needs to be conducted into the impact of legal pressure on the therapeutic process (Young & Belenko, 2002, p. 297). Still, they have determined that certain elements of mandatory drug treatment programs have proven to be an effective means of ensuring that offenders remain in the program long enough for their participation to demonstrate lower recidivism and higher successful social integration results. Thus, to be effective, any mandatory treatment programs must inform the offenders about the requirements and consequences of participation and lack of participation, as well as how their participation will be monitored by the court and other legal officers (Young & Belenko, 2002, p. 297). For example, Young & Belenko (2002, p. 297) found higher levels of success in programs where the offenders were aware of the legal consequences of their failure to participate fully in the program.
Mandatory treatment programs have also demonstrated some effectiveness with sexual offenders, who are notoriously the most difficult offenders to rehabilitate. In fact, many people, including many sexual offenders themselves, believe that sexual offenders cannot be rehabilitated. They believe that sexual offenders will always be haunted by the desire to offend. Even if that were true, however, mandatory treatment progra...