Assessing the Impact of Drug-related Criminal Cases on the Judicial Processing of Criminal Cases, Crowding and Public Safety, Volumes I, II, and III

• NCJ Number: 133390
• Author(s): J S Goldkamp; P R Jones; M R Gottfredson; D Weiland
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 543 pages
• Grant Number(s): 88-DD-CX-K002
• Sponsoring Agency: Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)
• Corporate Author: Temple University
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Data from 1984 and 1987 formed the basis of an analysis of the impact of drug law offenses and offender drug abuse on court caseloads, prison overcrowding, and public safety and a discussion of the implications for future criminal justice policy.

Abstract

The analysis used official records from Dade County (Fla.), Maricopa County (Ariz.), and Boston and included two 4-year and one 18-month followup data set. Results showed that most of the criminal cases studied were drug-related according to the criteria used. In addition, defendants with more extensive criminal histories were more likely than others to be active drug abusers. Moreover, drug-related cases make up a major proportion of inmate populations. Findings also indicated that the relationship between drug-related cases and public safety is complex, although knowledge of drug-related attributes is helpful in assessing the likelihood of future rearrests. Figures, tables, footnotes, and appended tables and reference lists for each volume