Mission Statement
The mission of the Rutherford County Drug Court Program is to reduce the length and use of incarceration, reduce the recidivism rate of crimes related to substance abuse and improve the safety and quality of life in our community by utilizing an innovative, efficient, integrated model of services.

History of Program
The Rutherford County Drug Court Program began as an idea in January 1998.  Various members of the community came together to discuss the possibility of a drug court.  Circuit Court Judge Don Ash, Public Defender Gerald Melton, Assistant District Attorney Tom Jackson, Director of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services for The Guidance Center Mary Schneider, and Craig Turner, with Tennessee Probation Services (now known as BI), all began to meet regularly to develop our model for a drug court.  Assistance was given by the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department, the Smyrna Police Department, the Murfreesboro Police Department, and Mayor Reeves and Mayor Mullins of Murfreesboro and Smyrna respectively. 

The interest in the drug court concept was such that we were able to apply for a federal planning grant from the Department of Justice for an eighteen month planning period.  This gave the team an opportunity to visit other drug courts across the nation, which helped us develop our model for the Rutherford County Drug Court.  We were able to start a pilot program in December 1999.  At this point we felt confident that we could conduct a successful drug court program in Rutherford County and applied and received a federal implementation grant in September 2000.  On December 18, 2000 we admitted our first three drug court participants.