Library Index :: Crime and Justice in America :: Alcohol Crime and Drugs - Substance-related Arrests, Presence Of Drugs At The Time Of Arrest, Juvenile Drug Use

Alcohol Crime and Drugs - Presence Of Drugs At The Time Of Arrest

In 1987 the National Institute of Justice introduced the Drug Use Forecasting program (DUF) to determine the FIGURE 8.3
Drug arrests by age, 1970–2002

TABLE 8.4
Percent distribution of arrests for drug abuse violations, by type of drug, 1982–2001

Total Heroin/cocaine Marijuana Synthetic drugs Other
Total Sale/manufacture Possession Total Sale/manufacture Possession Total Sale/manufacture Possession Total Sale/manufacture Possession Total Sale/manufacture Possession
1982 100% 20% 80% 13% 4% 9% 72% 10% 62% 4% 1% 2% 12% 5% 7%
1983 100 22 78 23 6 17 61 10 50 3 1 2 13 4 8
1984 100 22 78 26 7 19 59 10 48 3 1 2 12 4 9
1985 100 24 76 30 8 22 55 10 45 3 1 2 12 4 8
1986 100 25 75 41 13 28 44 8 36 3 1 2 13 4 9
1987 100 26 74 46 14 32 40 7 33 3 1 2 12 4 8
1988 100 27 73 52 17 35 34 6 28 3 1 2 11 4 7
1989 100 32 68 54 19 35 29 6 23 2 1 1 15 6 8
1990 100 32 68 54 21 33 30 6 24 2 1 2 14 4 10
1991 100 33 67 55 22 33 28 6 22 2 1 1 14 4 10
1992 100 32 68 53 21 32 32 7 26 2 1 1 13 4 9
1993 100 30 70 50 19 31 34 6 28 2 1 1 14 4 10
1994 100 27 73 47 17 30 36 6 30 2 * 1 16 4 12
1995 100 25 75 42 15 28 40 6 34 2 1 2 16 4 12
1996 100 25 75 40 14 26 43 6 36 2 1 1 16 4 12
1997 100 20 80 36 10 25 44 6 38 3 1 2 18 4 14
1998 100 21 79 37 11 26 44 5 38 3 1 2 17 4 13
1999 100 20 80 34 10 24 46 6 40 3 1 2 17 3 14
2000 100 19 81 34 9 24 46 6 41 3 1 2 17 3 14
2001 100 19 81 33 10 23 46 5 40 4 1 3 18 3 14
*Less than 0.5%.
SOURCE: "Table 4.29: Percent Distribution of Arrests for Drug Abuse Violations," in Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics 2002, U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Washington, DC, 2003

TABLE 8.5
Drug use by adult arestees in 41 cities and counties, by sex and type of drug, 2000–2002
(Percent testing positive)

Any drug1 Cocaine2 Marijuana
Male Female Male Female Male Female
Primary city 2000 2001 2002 2000 2001 2002 2000 2001 2002 2000 2001 2002 2000 2001 2002 2000 2001 2002
Albany, NY 65% 63% 70% 50% 62% 68% 25% 30% 26% 22% 44% 39% 45% 46% 54% 30% 40% 32%
Albuquerque, NM 65 64 62 58 66 70 35 37 38 41 46 49 47 38 34 18 25 27
Anchorage, AK 52 52 61 46 55 68 22 19 20 24 23 49 38 38 49 28 31 28
Atlanta, GA 70 NA 71 72 NA NA 48 NA 49 58 NA NA 38 NA 35 26 NA NA
Birmingham, AL 65 63 64 53 NA NA 33 29 34 42 NA NA 45 49 42 18 NA NA
Charlotte, NC 68 66 62 NA 68 64 44 32 34 NA 63 38 44 48 44 NA 18 38
Chicago, IL 76 84 85 80 NA NA 37 41 48 59 NA NA 46 50 49 26 NA NA
Cleveland, OH 72 68 72 68 71 64 38 35 35 52 50 43 49 47 51 24 28 26
Dallas, TX 54 52 58 39 NA NA 28 30 31 24 NA NA 36 33 35 21 NA NA
Denver, CO 64 62 62 70 64 68 35 34 33 47 45 45 41 40 40 34 33 33
Des Moines, IA 55 57 56 59 60 55 11 9 10 18 12 12 41 43 42 36 40 32
Detroit, MI 70 64 NA 70 NA NA 24 22 NA 42 NA NA 50 48 NA 24 NA NA
Fort Lauderdale, FL 62 NA NA 61 NA NA 31 NA NA 45 NA NA 43 NA NA 28 NA NA
Honolulu, HI 63 59 63 62 50 60 16 11 9 19 10 7 30 30 32 19 14 21
Houston, TX 57 NA NA 52 NA NA 32 NA NA 32 NA NA 36 NA NA 27 NA NA
Indianapolis, IN 64 66 66 72 67 76 31 32 35 45 41 55 49 50 47 38 38 39
Kansas City, MO NA 69 NA NA NA NA NA 34 NA NA NA NA NA 49 NA NA NA NA
Laredo, TX 59 49 46 31 35 26 45 35 36 22 26 11 28 26 26 17 14 7
Las Vegas, NV 58 60 64 61 53 NA 22 21 24 27 26 NA 33 35 35 25 24 NA
Los Angeles, CA NA NA 62 65 NA NA NA NA 32 33 NA NA NA NA 36 32 NA NA
Miami, FL 63 NA NA NA NA NA 44 NA NA NA NA NA 38 NA NA NA NA NA
Minneapolis, MN 67 69 74 NA NA NA 26 28 31 NA NA NA 54 54 54 NA NA NA
New Orleans, LA 69 68 72 56 56 59 35 37 42 41 38 42 47 45 47 28 25 26
New York, NY 80 76 81 75 77 61 49 45 49 53 57 39 41 40 44 28 32 31
Oklahoma City, OK 71 68 72 67 64 67 22 22 26 27 27 30 57 51 54 45 41 43
Omaha, NE 63 69 61 53 64 60 18 20 21 22 28 30 48 56 41 33 36 28
Philadelphia, PA 72 71 76 59 NA NA 31 37 39 41 NA NA 49 43 48 22 NA NA
Phoenix, AZ 66 69 71 66 72 71 32 27 27 35 32 26 34 40 42 23 26 29
Portland, OR 64 68 66 69 73 67 22 27 22 30 37 28 36 36 38 26 24 22
Rio Arriba, NM NA NA 62 NA NA NA NA NA 30 NA NA NA NA NA 38 NA NA NA
Sacramento, CA 74 73 79 NA 81 NA 18 18 21 NA 30 NA 50 48 51 NA 28 NA
Salt Lake City, UT 54 54 60 59 49 74 18 16 19 14 22 31 34 34 36 25 19 25
San Antonio, TX 53 57 63 NA NA NA 20 30 32 NA NA NA 41 41 42 NA NA NA
San Diego, CA 64 62 64 66 67 69 15 14 13 26 16 21 39 36 38 27 28 33
San Jose, CA 53 62 58 68 71 67 12 13 13 8 15 12 36 38 34 29 34 27
Seattle, WA 64 64 70 NA NA NA 31 32 38 NA NA NA 38 35 36 NA NA NA
Spokane, WA 58 62 65 NA NA NA 15 18 16 NA NA NA 40 42 47 NA NA NA
Tucson, AZ 69 63 71 71 58 70 41 36 42 50 35 45 45 44 47 28 29 25
Tulsa, OK NA 61 70 NA NA 72 NA 20 22 NA NA 27 NA 48 52 NA NA 34
Washington, DC NA NA 64 NA NA 74 NA NA 28 NA NA 38 NA NA 41 NA NA 33
Woodbury, IA NA NA 43 NA NA 39 NA NA 12 NA NA 26 NA NA 28 NA NA 13
Median 64 64 64 62 64 67 31 29 30 33 31 31 41 43 42 27 28 28
Note: These data are from the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice. ADAM data are collected in booking facilities in participating counties throughout the United States.
1Includes cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine, opiates, and phencyclidine (PCP).
2Includes either crack or powder cocaine.
SOURCE: "Table 4.30: Drug Use by Adult Arrestees in 41 U.S. Cities and Counties, by Sex and Type of Drug," in Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics 2002,U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Washington, DC, 2003

nature and extent of drug abuse in the nation by monitoring drug use of arrestees in 23 cities across the United States. In 1993 the DUF was criticized for producing data that were not generalized. This led to the redesign of the study, including its expansion to include 41 cities and new title, the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Program, or ADAM. The new program added elements to make the collected data more accurate and valuable to the local sites in monitoring local drug trends. The NIJ also plans to eventually expand the program to 75 cities. The data, collected quarterly in central booking facilities of each city, comes from voluntary and anonymous interviews and urine specimens from selected arrestees. Except for marijuana and PCP, which can remain in the system for several weeks, all the other drugs had been used by arrestees in the preceding two or three days.

Adult Arrestees

In 2002 the 41 cities collected data from adult male arrestees and published the results in Preliminary Data on Drug Use and Related Matters among Adult Arrestees and Juvenile Detainees, 2002 (National Institute of Justice, Washington, D.C., 2003). The percentage of male arrestees who tested positive for any drug use ranged from a high of 85 percent in Chicago, Illinois to a low of 43

TABLE 8.6
Urine test results on drug use by adult male arrestees, 2002

% of Arrestees testing positive for:
Primary city Any of 5 drugs1 Multiple drugs (Any of 5) Any of 10 drugs2 Multiple drugs (any of 10) Interviews with completed urine tests (%)
Albany, NY 70.0 17.3 71.5 20.3 71.4
Albuquerque, NM 61.9 24.2 67.2 28.2 96.0
Anchorage, AK 61.4 11.0 64.5 15.0 90.2
Atlanta, GA 70.7 18.1 71.3 19.2 92.3
Birmingham, AL 63.6 17.6 65.2 20.9 85.5
Charlotte, NC 61.8 18.9 62.5 21.0 87.2
Chicago, IL 85.2 33.8 85.3 36.0 92.1
Cleveland, OH 71.9 23.4 73.2 25.4 92.0
Dallas, TX 58.0 17.8 59.2 20.3 95.8
Denver, CO 61.7 17.9 67.4 22.6 94.4
Des Moines, IA 56.0 18.5 57.3 19.8 91.2
Honolulu, HI 62.9 23.0 64.4 25.9 89.9
Indianapolis, IN 66.0 21.1 67.9 24.2 97.3
Laredo, TX 46.4 19.6 50.7 19.6 79.4
Las Vegas, NV 64.0 20.9 66.5 25.0 92.9
Los Angeles, CA 62.3 23.3 62.3 24.6 85.5
Minneapolis, MN 73.5 21.0 74.5 23.5 92.5
New Orleans, LA 71.6 29.3 73.4 32.1 97.4
New York, NY 81.0 26.1 82.7 31.5 97.3
Oklahoma City, OK 72.1 25.7 74.1 33.2 97.4
Omaha, NE 61.3 21.6 62.8 23.3 84.5
Philadelphia, PA 76.2 30.8 76.8 36.7 94.7
Phoenix, AZ 71.1 29.7 73.5 32.6 93.3
Portland, OR 66.3 24.2 68.7 27.7 93.5
Rio Arriba, NM 61.7 23.2 64.7 30.4 92.9
Sacramento, CA 78.7 31.3 80.1 36.7 96.1
Salt Lake City, UT 59.6 21.7 62.1 24.7 94.9
San Antonio, TX 62.9 20.0 64.4 22.0 95.9
San Diego, CA 63.8 22.5 66.1 25.6 96.5
San Jose, CA 58.5 21.1 60.2 22.7 90.9
Seattle, WA 70.1 23.8 71.0 25.1 92.5
Spokane, WA 64.8 23.0 66.6 24.5 94.8
Tucson, AZ 71.3 30.4 74.6 32.8 87.9
Tulsa, OK 70.4 24.3 72.2 29.6 98.4
Washington, DC 63.6 21.4 64.0 24.1 74.7
Woodbury, IA 42.8 12.8 43.3 14.5 86.5
Median 63.9 22.1 66.9 24.6 92.7
1The 5 drugs are cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine, opiates, and phencyclidine (PCP).
2The 10 drugs are barbiturates, benzodiazepines, cocaine, marijuana, methadone, methamphetamine, methaqualone, opiates, phencyclidine (PCP), and propoxyphene.
SOURCE: "Table 3: Urine Test Results on Drug Use among Adult Male Arrestees, 2002," in Preliminary Data on Drug Use & Related Matters among Adult Arrestees & Juvenile Detainees 2002, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice, Washington, DC, June 2002

percent in Woodbury, Iowa, with a median (half of the cities had higher percentages testing positive, half had lower) of 64 percent. (See Table 8.5.)

The findings are viewed as conservative estimates of drug use, since self-report studies tend to understate actual drug use. Urinalysis revealed that almost one-quarter (24.6 percent) of arrestees in about half of the cities had used more than one of 10 drugs. The use of more than one drug (any of 10) per arrestee ranged from 36.7 percent in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Sacramento, California to a low of 14.5 in Woodbury, Iowa. (See Table 8.6.) In most of the reporting cities, adult male arrestees were 32 years of age or older. In half the study sites, 30 percent or more of arrestees did not have a high school diploma. About 60 percent were employed, and over 80 percent had prior arrest records.

Data from the 1999 Annual Report on Drug Use Among Adult and Juvenile Arrestees (National Institute of Justice, 2000), show the range of drug use among arrestees in 34 U.S. cities in 1999. Among white male arrestees, the highest rate of use of any drug was in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, while the highest rate among African-American male arrestees was found in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Use of drugs among Hispanic male arrestees was highest in New York City, New York.

Among females, use of any drug by white arrestees was highest in New York City, while the largest proportion of African-American female arrestees were found to have used drugs in Albuquerque, and the largest proportion of Hispanic female arrestee drug users was found in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Juvenile Arrestees

In 2000 drug use by male juvenile arrestees showed common trends. Marijuana use occurred with the most frequency, FIGURE 8.4
State prison population by offense type, 1980–2001 with the highest use in Phoenix (55 percent) and the lowest in Birmingham, Alabama (42 percent). Marijuana is the drug most commonly used by both male and female juvenile detainees, as reported in the 2000 Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Program Report (National Institute of Justice, April 2003). Cocaine was the second most common drug, although far behind marijuana in usage. In only three sites did more than 10 percent of juvenile detainees test positive for cocaine.

Generally, the older the juvenile arrestee, the more likely he was to test positive for drug use. Juvenile arrestees aged 17 showed the highest proportion of drug use. Less than 5 percent of detainees were homeless or living in a shelter, while some 93 percent lived in houses or apartments. Of those living with their families, 52 percent lived in two-parent families and 40 percent in single-parent families. Of those in single-parent families, 82 percent lived with their mothers.

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