ASSESSING THE NEED FOR TREATMENT IN THE ARRESTEE POPULATION

Abstract

ABSTRACT Data from the National Institute of Justice's Drug Use Forecasting (DUF) program have indicated consistently very high levels of recent illicit drug use in the population of adults arrested for felonies in urban areas. However, a number of conceptual and methodological flaws seriously limit the policy relevance of the DUF results. The present study corrects many of the methodological problems and focuses on substance dependence rather than recent use. Estimates of the prevalence of dependence on alcohol and illicit substances are presented and the correlates of dependence in a sample of adult arrestees are identified. The findings suggest that the need for treatment is very high in the arrestee population. The multivariate analysis suggests that although the need for treatment is consistently present, the nature of the problem varies by jurisdiction. The policy implications of the findings are discussed.