NCJ Number
131206
Date Published
1990
Length
102 pages
Annotation
This study of recidivism among drug offenders indicates that persistent drug use is typical of the population convicted for drug crimes in Florida.
Abstract
Florida's prison population has increased dramatically in the past decade from 19,681 in 1981 to 38,059 by June 1989. New prison admissions have forced a more rapid turnover of inmates and shortened sentences. In January 1988, Florida prisoners served an average of 40.6 percent of their sentences; this figure declined to 33 percent by December 1989. Prison admissions for drug offenses have increased more rapidly than for other offenses. Forecasts suggest this trend will continue as drugs are projected to account for 49.9 percent of all prison admissions in 1994-1995. While most perpetrators of Type I index crimes also commit drug offenses, most people arrested for drug crimes in Florida have not been arrested for a violent offense or a nonviolent Type I index crime. Similarly, drug offenders released from Florida prisons are more likely to be recidivists for drug offenses than for Type I index crimes. Empirical evidence implies that drug offenders are not deterred by longer sentences in prison. This reality, coupled with evidence that the number of drug offenders arrested is an explicit result of police resource allocation, suggests that the criminal justice system is faced with a major tradeoff: getting tough on drugs crowds prisons to the point of compromising the punishment and incapacitation of Type I index crime offenders. Appendixes contain a technical review of the literature and an econometric model for assessing recidivism. 110 references, 30 footnotes, 12 tables, and 1 figure