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If you or someone you know has been arrested for a suspected drug crime in New York, you might want to learn about the state’s drug court program. Within the greater New York City area there are multiple drug court programs based in part on geography as well as on area of focus.

According to the New York State Unified Court System’s 2016 Drug Court Annual Report, a total of 3,729 people were referred to drug court programs for evaluation in 2016. Of those, 615 entered guilty pleas which enabled them to participate in the drug court. Another 320 people graduated from a drug court in 2016. Between 1998 and 2016, more than 64,000 people were referred to the programs which more than 11,000 taking part.

When it comes to misdemeanor offenses, there is the Manhattan Misdemeanor Treatment Court and the Misdemeanor Brooklyn Treatment Court for those areas. In 2016, the former was responsible for only one percent of all referrals and two percent of all participations in drug court. The latter, in contrast saw 1,350 referrals which was 26 percent of the total. It also accounted for 12 percent of all pleas and participants with 122 people entering this drug court. Of the MBTC participant, three out of four were men and more than one-fourth were between 26 and 35 years old. Almost 40 percent were African American.

This information is not intended to provide legal advice but is instead meant to give residents in New York an idea of how many people participate in local drug courts and how many many successfully graduate from these programs.