NCJ Number
126745
Date Published
1990
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This report documents Wisconsin drug arrests and the criminal justice system response to them between 1985 and 1989. It describes number of sale and possession arrests, type of substance involved, arrests by county, State court activity, corrections admissions, and admissions to county drug treatment programs.
Abstract
The findings show an increase of over one-third in total drug arrests; adult drug arrests have increased by 11 percent, while juvenile drug arrests have decreased by 24 percent. The number of drug arrests in Milwaukee County significantly affects the State statistics. While there was a large decrease in the number of arrests for possession of illegal drugs, the arrests for sale and manufacture of drugs increased over 40 percent. Opium and cocaine-related arrests increased and nearly half occurred in Milwaukee County, while arrests for marijuana decreased during the entire reporting period. Between 1987 and 1989, there was an increase of nearly 85 percent in the number of court cases filed for the entire State; first/readmittance of male and female drug offenders to State correctional facilities increased by 177 percent during these five years. Total admissions to drug treatment programs increased in the State by 60 percent, but a large proportion of this was attributable to an 86 percent increase in Milwaukee County program admissions. 8 tables and 5 graphs