NCJ Number
144895
Journal
Prison Journal Volume: 73 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1993) Pages: 178-198
Date Published
1993
Length
21 pages
Annotation
The authors contend that patterns in the relationship between drug use and criminal behavior call for different correctional strategies, particularly in light of severe prison overcrowding and resource constraints faced by drug control agencies.
Abstract
Because of strained resources, many correctional systems have experimented with alternatives to incarceration in dealing with drug offenders. Such alternatives include shock incarceration, residential centers, financial penalties, community service, conventional probation, intensive supervision programs, electronic monitoring, urine testing, antidote drugs, and treatment. The optimum use of correctional alternatives for drug offenders requires an understanding of the nature of drug-crime behaviors and their suitability for different program types. A drug-crime behavior typology is presented that recognizes drug use and criminal behavior are two different forms of deviance. The typology rates commitment to drugs and commitment to crime as high or low. Principles associated with the use of correctional alternatives for drug offenders are addressed. Four strategies for drug offenders are specifically recommended: (1) drug offenders should be assigned to programs that fit their drug-crime behavior; (2) programming options should be based on potentially high failure rates; (3) program developers should realize that no program is ideal or perfect; and (4) programming options should be based on reducing the harmful effects of drugs. 46 references and 1 table