There is debate over whether new alternatives to custody will decrease the prison population. One explanation for the apparent contradiction is that many offenders will fail to meet more stringent requirements for noncustodial options and, when they reoffend, the court has little recourse but to impose a sometimes lengthy period of custody. Drug abuses who fail a strict court-imposed program are likely to be imprisoned as a sanction for failure, and drug abusers are not always capable of complying with structured programs. Another important issue is that the idea of punishment in the community does not satisfactorily address the policy issue of how inconsistency in sentencing decisions can be controlled. England already has a type of compulsory treatment for drug abusers; many drug offenders are placed on probation with the condition that they reside in a specified therapeutic community. If they abscond in the first few months of treatment, they will be rearrested and resentenced. This approach works with a few offenders, but many abscond and end up in custody. Further research is needed to compare the length of stay in rehabilitation for those on conditions of residence and those who are not. Even for juvenile drug offenders, there are philosophical doubts as to whether compulsory treatment will succeed. Sentencing options already available should be better researched and developed. For example, the recent trend toward placing probation liaison staff with community drug teams has the potential to increase positive client outcomes. 9 references.