NCJ Number
171660
Date Published
1998
Length
290 pages
Annotation
This report assesses the relationship between drug and alcohol abuse and addiction and America's prison population and the implications of that relationship for public safety, State and Federal criminal justice, public health and social service policies, taxes that Americans pay, and the Nation's economy.
Abstract
The study found that the explosion of the inmate population is drug- and alcohol-related. In addition to incarceration, there are other criminal justice system costs for arresting and prosecuting substance abusers. For example, the bill for arresting and prosecuting the 1,436,000 DUI arrests in 1995 was more than $5.2 billion, exclusive of the costs of pretrial detention and incarceration. Prevention is the best defense against drug- and alcohol-related crime. It is important to develop, implement and evaluate large-scale prevention efforts for the populations at risk for substance abuse and criminal activity, to give children the will and skill to say no, and to make the schools drug-free. The report describes specific prevention measures as well as programs to help addicted offenders while they are incarcerated and after release. Notes, figures, tables, glossary, references, appendixes