NCJ Number
154336
Date Published
1989
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This paper reports on an effort to demonstrate quantitatively the costs and system effects of a national policy of urine testing and drug abuse treatment for probationers and parolees; then the paper discusses other issues related to the design and implementation of urine surveillance programs.
Abstract
Urine surveillance is in widespread use in the supervision of offenders. Although its effectiveness is not yet well understood, the magnitude of the drug problem, political realities, and the ready availability of relatively inexpensive drug screening technologies suggest that its use will continue and spread. This paper's foregoing discussion and analysis show that substantial resources are required for the implementation of a systematic screening program and, depending on program features, existing criminal justice and drug-abuse treatment infrastructure capacity does not now exist. Existing Bureau of Justice Assistance documents guide jurisdictions in the identification of surveillance-program operational, logistical, and cost factors. Ongoing evaluation research may soon provide direction for shaping programs to maximize their capacity to reduce drug abuse among offenders; however, programs should not be attempted without the necessary resources or without the cooperation of the various bureaucracies whose participation will be required. Failure to commit sufficient resources or to secure the cooperation of necessary system components will result in program failure.