NCJ Number
123316
Editor(s)
R Weisheit
Date Published
1990
Length
405 pages
Annotation
A group of authors examine the dimensions of the drug problem specific to crime and criminal justice.
Abstract
Nearly every aspect of the drug issue is framed in the language of war or conflict. The different strategies for this war are discussed in the first chapter. The impact of interdiction and the sale and distribution of illegal drugs in the U.S. are discussed. The correlation between increased cocaine use and higher rates of violence is proposed, as well as a typology for the classification of drug-related homicides. Problems affecting the criminal justice system, such as management and policy due to the surge in drug arrests and the AIDS problem, are recounted. Employee drug abuse in law enforcement, testing offenders and criminal justice employees for drug abuse, and the validity of self-reported drug use are focused upon. The decriminalization or legalization of drug laws is debated, and literature review is provided on the drug-crime (delinquency) nexus among adolescents. A study examining whether people arrested for driving while intoxicated have a significant history of prior criminal arrests is presented. The Confined Addicts Seeking Help (CASH) self-help program in the Baltimore City Jail (Maryland) is described as a model treatment program.