NCJ Number
35548
Journal
Crime and Delinquency Volume: 22 Issue: 3 Dated: (JULY 1976) Pages: 359-366
Date Published
1976
Length
8 pages
Annotation
CRIMINAL JUSTICE STATISTICS ON ARRESTS, CONVICTIONS, AND DISPOSITIONS ARE REVIEWED, AND SURVEYS OF THE PREVALENCE OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE IN STATE AND FEDERAL PRISONS ARE REPORTED, TO DETERMINE THE PROBLEM'S NATURE AND SCOPE.
Abstract
THE REVIEW DOCUMENTS STATISTICS SUPPORTING THE FINDINGS THAT MAJOR INVESTMENTS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT ENERGY ARE BEING SPENT IN ARRESTING SUBSTANCE ABUSERS, THAT SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS OF THESE ARE BEING CONVICTED (ROUGHLY 20 PER CENT TO 50 PER CENT OF PRISON INMATES HAVE MAJOR DRUG OR ALCOHOL PROBLEMS), AND THAT THE RATES OF SUCH PROBLEMS AMONG PAROLEES HAVE BEEN RISING. EXISTING TREATMENT CAPACITIES FOR SUBSTANCE-ABUSING INMATES IN STATE AND FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS ARE REVIEWED. PRISON PROGRAMS EITHER DO NOT EXIST OR ARE INADEQUATE, WITH PROBABLY FEWER THAN TEN STATES HAVING MADE ANY LONGTERM COMMITMENT. THE FEDERAL NARCOTIC ADDICT REHABILITATION ACT PROGRAM HAS NOT BEEN EFFECTIVE AND THE BUREAU OF PRISONS' RESPONSE TO INCARCERATED DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSERS IS LESS ADEQUATE THAN THE EFFORTS OF MANY STATES. FOR ALL JURISDICTIONS, THE LEVEL OF TREATMENT RESPONSE IS IN NO WAY COMMENSURATE WITH THE SIZE OF THE PROBLEM. IT IS SAID THAT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SUCH EFFORTS CANNOT BE ADEQUATELY ASSESSED UNTIL MORE RESOURCES HAVE BEEN DEVOTED TO THEM. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)