NCJ Number
108560
Date Published
1988
Length
35 pages
Annotation
Recent research findings regarding the characteristics of offenders who are involved with the use, sale, and distribution of illicit drugs suggest the need to focus resources on improving methods for identifying high-rate, dangerous drug-involved offenders and on replicating and testing programs previously found to be effective in reducing their use of drugs.
Abstract
Resources should also be used to coordinate the efforts of the criminal justice system to supervise and deal with these high-rate offenders. The troublesome behavior of most of the youth who are drug-involved is often attributable to inadequate adult supervision and is most often transitory. However, two types of adolescents do require more juvenile justice resources: the most seriously drug-involved who are already coming to the frequent attention of police and juvenile authorities and the few young violent dealers who evade arrest for most of their crimes. Unlike adolescents, most adults who use drugs do not engage in other forms of illegal behavior. In addition, most adult drug-involved offenders are not violent and commit crimes at low rates. However, adult predatory offenders who are frequently arrested and the high-rate predatory offenders who rarely are caught deserve intensive criminal justice attention. The most effective concentration of resource on the high-rate serious drug-involved offenders requires coordination between criminal justice agencies within and across jurisdictions. In addition, cooperation between correctional staff and program providers in the community can increase the chance that released drug-involved offenders receive help in staying drug free. Tables, notes and 98 references.