Predicting Pretrial Misconduct With Drug Tests of Arrestees: Evidence From Six Sites, Research in Brief

Data were analyzed from six jurisdictions to determine how urine test results and other factors, especially criminal records and community ties, might have a bearing on postrelease misconduct (arrest and failure to appear). Overall, researchers found some evidence that drug-test results predict pretrial misconduct. The evidence was inconsistent, however; some sites indicated drug tests could not predict any type of behavior, and others predicted either rearrest or failure to appear, but seldom both. A positive test for opiates helped predict rearrest; a positive test for cocaine helped predict misconduct in some sites, but the effect was not statistically significant in a combined test across all sites. A positive test for cocaine helped predict failure to appear; other positive test results showed no consistent predictive power. The study speculated that a key problem with urine test results is that they cannot distinguish between heavy and moderate drug users; this is a significant limitation, since criminal behavior generally increases with heavy drug use. 3 exhibits and 6 notes