Pretrial Drug Testing: Panacea or Pandora's Box? (From Criminal Courts for the 21st Century, P 168-185, 1999, Lisa Stolzenberg and Stewart J. D'Alessio, eds. -- See NCJ-186588)

• NCJ Number: 186593
• Author(s): Christy A. Visher
• Date Published: 1999
• Length: 18 pages
• Sale Source: Prentice Hall (Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc)
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications from the Annals of the American Academy of Political & Social Science, vol. 521, (1992), pp. 112-113.

Annotation

This article examines the debates within research and policy on pretrial drug testing.

Abstract

The article describes the Washington, D.C., pretrial testing program, the longest-running such program in the country, and several studies of that program. It reviews additional research on the use of drug-testing results as a predictive indicator of pretrial misconduct. It relates the experiences and findings of six other jurisdictions that attempted to replicate the District of Columbia program. And it considers the future of pretrial drug testing and whether pretrial testing programs have a place in United States national drug policy. The article observes that pretrial drug testing will fail when local criminal justice officials have not adequately planned for its implementation. Pretrial drug-testing programs can be adapted to local circumstances and can play an important role in detecting and supervising drug-involved offenders. The utility of specific components of pretrial testing may vary from one jurisdiction to another, but all programs require careful planning and continual attention. The article concludes that, with strong internal and external support, pretrial testing programs can form a key element in a jurisdiction's criminal justice policy on drug abuse and drug-related crime. Tables, notes