NCJ Number
174267
Journal
Alternatives to Incarceration Volume: 3 Issue: 4 Dated: July/August 1998 Pages: 24-26
Date Published
1998
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article reviews statistics on probationersþ histories of drug and alcohol use and treatment.
Abstract
A 1995 survey of adults on probation disclosed that nearly 70 percent had used drugs in the past, 32 percent were using drugs in the month prior to their offense, 14 percent were on drugs when they committed their offense, more than 20 percent were on probation for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and 25 percent of other probationers had been drinking at the time of their offense. Seventeen percent of probationers interviewed had participated in a drug treatment program while serving their current sentence, and 32 percent had received treatment for alcohol abuse. Overall, 38 percent had received some treatment for substance abuse since beginning their probation. There were few differences between men and women in percentages of drug use; drug use patterns varied little across racial or ethnic groups; drug use by probationers under age 45 was consistently higher than for older probationers; and those with a GED or equivalent consistently had the highest level of prior drug use. Findings were based on personal interviews with a nationally representative sample of more than 2,000 adult probationers under active supervision, following an earlier study of administrative records of a larger sample of probationers. Tables