Arizona Profile 1997

Drug Strategies

Crime and Substance Abuse

Drugs and alcohol contribute to criminal behavior in part because they weaken inhibitions and impair judgment. For those who profit from the illicit drug trade, competition can stimulate violent crime; for their customers, crime may provide a means of financing their habit. The bottom line: Crime trends reflect the effects of the most severe drug and alcohol problems in the state.

Drug Arrests, Imprisonments and Seizures

Arizona maintains a strong record of drug arrests, particularly in Tucson. In 1995, there were 19,240 arrests for possession of illicit drugs, a 74 percent increase over 1990. During the same period, arrests for drug sales and manufacturing rose 84 percent. Although Tucson is home to just 9 percent of Arizona's residents, the city claims one in four of the state's drug arrests; the drug arrest rate there (1,116 per 100,000) is almost twice the national average.

In Phoenix, the data focus on another story-the rate of drug use among arrestees. According to the 1995 Drug Use Forecasting (DUF) data, 63 percent of adults arrested in Phoenix tested positive for an illegal drug. Among those arrested for drug crimes, the percentage is even higher. Trends are similar for juvenile arrestees.

Among the 23 DUF cities nationwide, Phoenix had the second-highest rate of methamphetamine use, with one in five arrestees testing positive. The city now devotes approximately 60 percent of its drug enforcement resources to curbing methamphetamine activity.

Statewide, Arizona's prisons now house over 23,000 inmates-nearly double the inmate population in 1989. Drug offenders have contributed disproportionately to this increase, representing 22 percent of inmates in 1996, compared to 15.6 percent in 1989.

When it comes to young drug offenders, Arizona arrests many but imprisons few. Juvenile arrests for drug violations more than tripled since 1991, with 4,883 arrests in 1995. But Arizona's mandate to limit the number of incarcerated juvenile offenders has created a shortage of juvenile prison beds. Out of a total of 1,700 youth convicted in 1995, 534 are incarcerated. Minimum sentence guidelines for violent juvenile offenders require that most prison beds go to violent juveniles; nonviolent youth, regardless of their crimes, are placed on probation.

While marijuana seizures have increased 43 percent since 1991, the big story in seizures is methamphetamine. Seizures of methamphetamine are soaring as the drug spreads throughout the state. In 1994, authorities discovered 770 clandestine methamphetamine labs-four times the number in 1991. In the early 1990's, the Arizona Highway Patrol and other Department of Public Safety task forces seized an average of 77 pounds of methamphetamine annually. In 1995, however, methamphetamine seizures tripled to 336 pounds. About 80 percent of this methamphetamine comes from Mexico, often via California.

Treatment for Criminals

Arizona has made significant progress in providing substance abuse treatment for criminals. In 1983, the state began offering treatment for drunk driving (DUI) offenders. In 1993, the legislature allocated $1.5 million a year for prison-based drug treatment. And by 1996, there were 1,634 beds for in-prison drug and alcohol treatment statewide. While a promising development, these beds do not begin to address the treatment needs of Arizona prisoners: as many as two-thirds may need substance abuse treatment.

Treatment has not been expensive. The cost averages $10 per day for drug treatment and just $1 per day for DUI treatment. Wages paid to the Department of Corrections for inmate work details finance the DUI treatment services.

Arizona's juvenile prisons contain 128 specialized treatment beds, 48 of which are dedicated to substance abuse treatment. The Department of Juvenile Corrections also has 40 contracts with community providers and a $10 million annual budget for community corrections, prevention and treatment programs for juvenile probationers and parolees.

Court supervised treatment shows promise in Arizona cities. A 1992/93 project by the RAND Corporation studied the effectiveness of mandatory, postadjudication treatment for first-time drug possession felons on probation in Maricopa County. Forty percent of participants successfully completed the mandatory treatment, and those who did had fewer parole violations, particularly drug violations, than treatment dropouts. Now, an interdisciplinary planning committee is studying the feasibility of starting such a drug court in Tucson, and has requested implementation funds from the U.S. Office of Justice Programs. Modeled after successful drug courts in other states, the court would defer judgment for some people pleading guilty to felony drug possession, placing them in voluntary court-supervised treatment through partnerships with local treatment providers.

Recidivism

Despite Arizona's progress in providing criminals with substance abuse treatment, more work remains. The state urgently needs targeted drug treatment and rehabilitative services for both inmates and parolees, and continuity of care in the transition from prison to parole.

A recent study of adult prison parolees in Arizona found that 40 percent are reincarcerated within three years following release. Although just 25 percent of drug offenders are returned to custody during that period, the rate is 51 percent among those who use narcotics (cocaine, crack and heroin). Yet Arizona has no separate budget item for aftercare services for parolees, and many newly released inmates do not have treatment services upon release. They must compete with the general public for aftercare and recovery services which are already operating over capacity. If continuous treatment is not immediately accessible following parole, drug users are more likely to relapse and commit new crimes. Additional services are also needed for jail inmates upon release.

Domestic Violence

While stories of gangs often grab the headlines, drugs also promote many other types of crime with less notoriety. Domestic violence is just one example. In Arizona, 37 percent of domestic abuse victims report that their abuse is associated with alcohol use by the abuser. Upon arrest, 75 percent of accused batterers nationwide test positive for alcohol.

Gangs and Youth Violence

Violence is related to other problem behaviors, including drug use. Gangs play a role in youth violence and in the drug trade, and preventing gang involvement can reduce these problems. Compared to other states, Arizona has the 11th-highest rate of violent teen death. In 1995, one in three teenage deaths in Maricopa County was a homicide, more than twice the rate in 1989. Meanwhile, drug referrals to Maricopa County Juvenile Court saw a threefold increase, rising from 763 in 1990 to 2,199 in 1995.

The number of gangs in Arizona grew from 380 in 1991 to over 800 in 1993, with more than 15,000 gang members statewide. In response, the Governor and the Department of Public Safety created the Gang Intelligence Team Enforcement Mission (GITEM), which allows local, county, state and federal criminal justice agencies to collaboratively and rapidly deploy highly trained, mobile forces for gang-related problems. Since July 1994, GITEM has arrested more than 2,200 people (30 percent of them gang members), seized more than 400 firearms and identified over 1,500 new gang members. Highlighted among "Innovative State and Local Programs" by the U.S. Department of Justice, this pioneering program has been studied for replication by other states.

Drinking and Driving

Arizona has achieved notable success against drunk driving through a combination of prevention campaigns, strict penalties for driving under the influence and prison-based treatment for offenders. In 1996, Mothers Against Drunk Driving gave Arizona its highest ranking (A-) for its drunk driving policies and record.

Despite significant growth in Arizona's population and in arrests for all other crimes, the number of adult drunk driving arrests has held steady over the past five years. And drunk driving among youth dropped 24 percent between 1990 and 1995, even though total juvenile arrests during that period increased by 29 percent.

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