Introduction

The connection between drug abuse and crime is well known.

Drug abuse is implicated in at least three types of drug-related offenses: (1) offenses defined by drug possession or sales, (2) offenses directly related to drug abuse (e.g., stealing to get money for drugs), and (3) offenses related to a lifestyle that predisposes the drug abuser to engage in illegal activity, for example, through association with other offenders or with illicit markets. Individuals who use illicit drugs are more likely to commit crimes, and it is common for many offenses, including violent crimes, to be committed by individuals who had used drugs or alcohol prior to committing the crime, or who were using at the time of the offense.

After a nationally representative survey of State correctional agencies was conducted in 2005, Criminal Justice-Drug Abuse Treatment Studies (CJ-DATS) investigators estimated that nearly 8 million adults are involved in the justice system (Taxman, Young, Wiersema, et al., 2007). Almost 5 million individuals are on probation or under parole supervision (Glaze and Bonczar, 2006; Taxman, Young, Wiersema, et al., 2007), with drug law violators accounting for the largest percentage of these parolees. The substance abuse or dependence rates of offenders are more than four times that of the general population (National Institute of Justice, 2003; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2006). In a 2004 survey, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) estimated that about 53 percent of State and 45 percent of Federal prisoners met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM) criteria for drug abuse or dependence (Mumola and Karberg, 2006). Of those surveyed, 14.8 percent of State and 17.4 percent of Federal prisoners reported having received drug treatment since admission (Mumola and Karberg, 2006). Juvenile justice systems also report high levels of drug abuse. A survey of juvenile detainees in 2000 found that about 56 percent of the boys and 40 percent of the girls tested positive for drug use at the time of their arrest (National Institute of Justice, 2003).

Although the past several decades have witnessed an increased interest in providing substance abuse treatment services for criminal justice offenders, only a small percentage of offenders has access to adequate services, especially in jails and community correctional facilities (Taxman, Perdoni, and Harrison, 2007). Not only is there a gap in the availability of these services for offenders, but often there are few choices in the types of services provided. Treatment that is of insufficient quality and intensity or that is not well suited to the needs of offenders may not yield meaningful reductions in drug use and recidivism. Untreated substance abusingoffenders are more likely than treated offenders to relapse to drug abuse and return to criminal behavior. This can bring about re-arrest and re-incarceration, jeopardizing public health and public safety and taxing criminal justice system resources. Treatment offers the best alternative for interrupting the drug abuse/criminal justice cycle for offenders with drug abuse problems.

Drug abuse treatment can be incorporated into criminal justice settings in a variety of ways. These include treatment as a condition of probation, drug courts that blend judicial monitoring and sanctions with treatment, treatment in prison followed by community-based treatment after release, and treatment under parole or probation supervision. Drug abuse treatment can benefit from the cross-agency coordination and collaboration of criminal justice professionals, substance abuse treatment providers, and other social service agencies. By working together, the criminal justice and treatment systems can optimize resources to benefit the health, safety, and well-being of the individuals and communities they serve.