3:12 Superior Court Judge Brent Bennet (in addition to his other duties) oversees a caseload of about 30 people in two therapeutic courts in Fairbanks. Called “diversion” courts, people convicted of drug and alcohol crimes work on overcoming addiction in an 18-month long program, instead of going to jail. “A big part of why I’m interested in working with the therapeutic courts, is, we’ve tried this system of criminal justice, and people just keep coming back.” The recidivism rate for people convicted of drug and alcohol crimes then sent to jail is normally about 50%. The model for the Fairbanks Wellness Court focusses on addiction treatment, rather than criminal punishment.