NCJ Number
171347
Date Published
1998
Length
119 pages
Annotation
Research initiated in England in January 1996 used interviews and drug testing of arrestees to develop information similar to that provided by the Drug Use Forecasting Program initiated by the National Institute of Justice in the United States.
Abstract
Surveys of a total of 829 arrestees were conducted in five areas over the 2-year research period. Six hundred twenty-two of the arrestees provided a urine specimen. Results revealed a 61-percent rate of positive urinalysis findings for drugs other than alcohol. The equivalent rate including alcohol varied between 72 percent and 82 percent of arrestees, depending on location. Forty-six percent tested positive for marijuana, 25 percent for alcohol, 18 percent for opiates, 12 percent for benzodiazepines, 11 percent for amphetamines, 10 percent for cocaine, and 8 percent for methadone. Females were as likely or more likely than males to test positive for most drugs. Forty-six percent of the arrestees who reported using drugs in the last 12 months believed that their drug use and crime were connected. The most frequent connection cited was the need for money to buy drugs. Forty-five percent of all arrestees said that they had been dependent on one or more drugs other than alcohol at some time; one in five said that they had received some kind of drug treatment and about the same proportion said that they currently would like to receive treatment. Findings indicated that drug use is common among arrestees and that most are released from the criminal justice system without any attention to problems relating to health, drug dependence, and lifestyle. Tables, figures, appended methodological information and additional results, list of other research reports from the same organization, and 21 references