Sociodemographic factors, drug abuse, and other crimes: How they vary among male and female arrestees

The push for severe punishment of drug-related crimes drastically increased the prison population over the last decade. The number of female prisoners grew at a rate even higher than that of males. With incarceration rates skyrocketing, it becomes ever more important to understand exactly who is involved in the justice system. An interview study conducted in seven county jails in Ohio examined various characteristics of arrestees, comparing separately by gender the behaviors and needs of arrestees there. The Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) interview schedule and the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS) constituted the major content of the questionnaire used in the present study. This questionnaire thus recorded details of arrestees' (1) criminal behavior, (2) drug use, (3) experience of drug-abuse consequences, (4) perceived needs for drug treatment, and (5) sociodemographic backgrounds. Only by identifying these factors can one gain adequate understanding of why individuals are involved in the justice system—and of what can, finally, curtail that involvement. Drug treatment and marketable-skill development have been two approaches to curtailing recidivism, and this study found that such programs alleviated arrestees' difficulties most effectively when they incorporated a gender-sensitive approach. Whether or not the interviewed arrestees were ever actually adjudicated, the identification of sociodemographic and other factors pertaining to them should provide useful insights for those seeking to deter future criminal involvement among offenders generally.