NCJ Number
84882
Date Published
1980
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This study, a month-by-month followup of all 7,202 persons released from the California Rehabilitation Center (CRC) during 1972-74, concluded that the period during which civil addicts must remain drug free before early discharge could safely be reduced to 1 year.
Abstract
Only about 14 of every 100 releases were still arrest and narcotic free 12.5 months after release, but of these, 10 (or 75 percent) were still clean a year later at 24.5 months. Of the four who failed, about half (58 percent) committed technical violations only, primarily use of drugs, and of the four, about three (or 64 percent) were allowed to remain in the community by the Narcotic Addict Evaluation Authority. The results are similar to those used to begin discharging felon parolees after 1 year of arrest-free adjustment, which was proved to be safe in a subsequent evaluation. Legislation should be initiated to reduce the time required for an early discharge to 1 year from the current 2 years. This would involve minimal risks because of the few addicts involved and the low rate of reinvolvement with drugs or crime, would release time and fiscal resources for use elsewhere, and would be more comparable with State prison as a dispositional choice for narcotic addicts choosing the latter because of the determinate sentencing law. Data tables and nine references are included. (Author abstract modified)