San Francisco is sending a growing number of criminal defendants into treatment through Drug Court, allowing them a chance to avoid trials and potential convictions while addressing substance-use disorders that can motivate criminal behavior.
But as the volume of cases in Drug Court surge, defendants charged with violent crimes are getting in, too, according to a Chronicle review of court data and cases. The shift is reshaping a program once reserved for low-level crimes such as drug possession and petty theft, while raising questions among some in the criminal justice system about whether the initiative is working as intended.
In 2023, defense attorneys, typically public defenders, moved to divert their clients’ cases to Drug Court 516 times, and 180 of the petitions were successful. In the first 10 months of 2025, those numbers more than tripled, to 1,909 and 608. In most cases, a judge approves a petition, though at times prosecutors, defense attorneys and a judge agree to divert a case…