NCJ Number
77834
Date Published
1981
Length
35 pages
Annotation
Longitudinal and cross-sectional data on persons arrested in the District of Columbia were included in a large data base that was then used to examine the relationship between arrestee drug use and crime.
Abstract
Since December 1971, almost all arrestees who were detained in the D.C. Superior Court lockup facility prior to their court appearance were asked to give information about their use of drugs, prior drug treatment, and current arrest charge, and to provide a urine specimen for analysis. The data base's cross-sectional files contained 57,944 cases for the period from 1973 through 1977. The longitudinal file contained arrest records for 7,087 persons from 1973 through 1978. The urinalysis tests could detect nine substances: amphetamines, methamphetamines, barbiturates, cocaine, methadone, morphine, codeine, quinine, and phenmetrazine. Analysis of the data indicated the following information. Female arrestees and arrestees between 21 and 30 were the most likely to have positive drug tests. Arrestees charged with crimes against persons were least likely to be found using using drugs. Drug-positive arrestees who were accepted for prosecution were less likely than drug-negative arrestees to be released on personal recognizance and more likely to be released to the custody of a third party or to post bond. The report indicates that urinalysis programs provide information useful for the pretrial release decision, since drug users were more likely to violate bail conditions. Additional recommendations, four references, and three attachments are provided. For the full report see NCJ 77835.