Preincarceration Patterns of Drug and Alcohol Use by Jail Inmates

• Date: 01 March 1991
• Author: Joel A. Thompson,G. Larry Mays,Charles B. Fields
• Published date: 01 March 1991
• DOI: 10.1177/088740349100500104
• Subject Matter: Articles

30

Preincarceration

Patterns

of

Drug

and

Alcohol

Use

by

Jail

Inmates

G.

Larry

Mays

New

Mexico

State

University

Charles

B.

Fields

Appalachian

State

University

Joel

A.

Thompson

Appalachian

State

University

Abstract

Extensive

research

exists

which

examines

the

relationship

between

the

use

of

alcohol

and/or

drugs

and

the

commission

of

crime.

However,

the

debate

continues

over

the

causal

nature

of

these

linkages.

This

paper

will

develop

a

profile

of

preincarceration

alcohol

and

drug

use

from

a

survey

of

5,785

jail

inmates.

From

this

profile

there

will

be

a

discussion

concerning

the

operational

and

policy

implications

of

having

an

inmate

population

with

the

types

of

drug

and

alcohol

problems

traditionally

associated

with

local

jail

inmates.

CJPR,

VOL.

5,

NO.

1/91,

@IUP

Introduction

The

literature

of

criminology

and

criminal

justice

is

replete

with

references

to

the

links

between

drug

and/or

alcohol

use

and

crime.

Much

of

this

literature

has

attempted

to

focus

on

the

causal

relationships

between

substance

abuse

and

criminality.

Also

mentioned

is

the

prevalence

of

substance

abuse

problems

among

those

individuals

incarcerated

in

our

nation’s

prisons

and

jails.

This

paper

will

focus

on

a

survey

of

5,785

local

jail

inmates

in

order

to

develop

a

profile

of

their

preincarceration

drug

and

alcohol

use

patterns.

If,

as

we

have

assumed,

there

are

high

rates

of

self-reported

drug

and

alcohol

use

in

conjunction

with

criminal

activity,

then

this

has

policy

implications

not

only

An

earlier

version

of

this

paper

was

presented

at

the

annual

meeting

of

the

American

Society

of

Criminology,

Reno,

NV,

November

8-11,1989.

Acknowledgement:

The

data

utilized

in

this

paper

were

made

available

by

the

Inter-university

Consortium

for

Political

and

Social

Research.

The

data

for the

Jail

Inmate

Survey, 1983

were

collected

originally

by

the

Bureau

z

of

Justice

Statistics.

Neither

the

collector

nor

the

Consortium

bears

any

responsibility

for

the

analyses

or

interpretations

presented

here.