NCJ Number
226081
Date Published
2008
Length
172 pages
Annotation
This report presents self-report and urinalysis data from detainees participating in the 2007 Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) program, which obtains systematic empirical data on illegal drug use among individuals detained and brought to a police station or watch-house.
Abstract
Based on urinalysis results, this report presents data on adult detainee use of benzodiazepines, cannabis, cocaine, heroin, methylamphetamine, MDMA (ecstasy), and other opiates (including codeine). Cannabis continues to be the most commonly detected drug, with nearly half of the detainees testing positive. Self-reports provided data on drug use in the past 30 days, injecting drug use, obtaining illegal drugs, alcohol use, drug and alcohol dependency, and drug treatment. Self-report data pertinent to the relationship between drug use and offending addresses drug use prior to offending, the most serious offense and drug-use patterns, crime attributed directly to drugs, weapon ownership/possession and crime, prior contact with the criminal justice system, and age of first drug use and arrest. Data are also provided on juvenile offending and drug use. A total of 3,911 detainees (adults and juveniles) were interviewed at the 10 sites participating in DUMA during 2007; of these detainees, 79 percent provided a urine sample. There were 111 juveniles interviewed in the 2 New South Wales sites. Approximately 84 percent of adult detainees were male, and 40 percent were between the ages of 21 and 30. Aggregated across all sites, 20 percent of detainees identified themselves as Indigenous. 1 figure, 18 tables, and 22 references