NCJ Number
167653
Date Published
1990
Length
186 pages
Annotation
By offering guiding principles to pretrial practitioners and other criminal justice policy-makers for the fair and efficient implementation and operation of pretrial drug testing, these standards are faithful to the spirit and letter of the 1978 Pretrial Release Standards.
Abstract
One standard states that the goals and purposes of pretrial drug testing should be consistent with and supportive of the established roles and objectives of pretrial services agencies in the adjudication process, as promulgated in the 1978 Performance Standards and Goals for Pretrial Release. Standard II states that pre-arraignment drug testing should be limited to assessing the risk of pretrial misconduct and assisting in the determination of appropriate conditions of pretrial release to reduce that risk. Standard III states that drug testing as a court-ordered condition of pretrial release should result from an individualized decision; and Standard IV recommends that any procedures used to observe the submission of a urine specimen should be the least intrusive necessary to ensure the authenticity of the specimen. Standard V states that every Pretrial Services Agency involved in drug testing should develop a written policy on the dissemination of test results and related information. Further, pretrial drug testing should be administered fairly and uniformly, according to Standard VI. Standard VII indicates that no program or pretrial drug testing should be implemented without careful attention to relevant technological considerations. Standard VIII indicates that a Pretrial Services Agency that implements a drug testing component must ensure the accuracy of the collection and testing process as applied in each case. Other standards focus on the accuracy, efficiency, and security of the information storage, retrieval, and reporting systems, as well as the evaluation of the utility and effectiveness of drug testing on an ongoing basis. A 165-item bibliography, appended discussion of the standards review process, and appended reviewers of the draft standards