“Can I go to alcohol rehab instead of jail?” should be asked by the accused to a judge or other court representative. If alcohol rehab is considered in the court system, there may be rules and regulations in choosing what facility the person will attend. He or she may also need to abide by certain rules set by the judge, such as the length of time to stay at the facility and the intensity of the program. The accused person may also have to check in with the judge or legal system on several occasions during the rehab process to demonstrate the character and life changes that have been made.
According to the Drug Rehab Center Hotline, jail can sometimes make an alcoholic draw more into his or her disease and away from society. Since jail simply isolates the person from a normal and functioning community, he or she may have even more trouble in adjusting back into society. Alcohol is usually the substance that is used to cope with this difficulty. If the individual is sent to rehab instead of jail, he or she can focus on how to become a functioning member of society and not letting the disease and addiction rule.
Alcohol is usually found to play a part in half of all violent crimes, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Since alcohol plays such an integral part in crimes, many governments are turning to alcohol rehab centers to rehabilitate criminals instead of them serving jail time. Each state’s legal system may have different guidelines on what rehab facility would be appropriate, the length of the stay in rehab and the requirements that must be completed for jail time to be excused. Sending a criminal to an alcohol rehab instead of a prison may be more helpful for his or her future.