Drug Testing and Recidivism of Houston Felony Probationers

• NCJ Number: 127749
• Journal: Perspectives Volume: 14 Issue: 4 Dated: special issue (Fall 1990) Pages: 36-43
• Author(s): G R Wheeler; A S Rudolph
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 8 pages
• Grant Number(s): GH-C8
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Corrections
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

Previous evaluations of the relationship between drug testing and criminal behavior have been narrow in scope and yielded mixed results.

Abstract

The present study focused on the impact of drug testing on recidivism rates among felony probationers in Houston, Texas. The findings indicated that successful probationers were tested and seen by officers a significantly greater number of times than unsuccessful probationers. In addition, drug and non-drug offenders had similar law violation rates, but drug offenders committed a higher number of technical violations. As expected, evidence of drug abuse was related to probation failure. Finally, the effect of drug offenders' participation in treatment varied according to their characteristics. Probation success was enhanced for drug offenders with characteristics predictive of failure, whereas those with the attributes of success did not appear to benefit from treatment. 9 tables and 8 references (Author abstract modified)