Pretrial Drug Testing
...onvicted individuals opted to enter drug treatment, in and out patient. Drug testing within the criminal justice system aided in detecting heroin users who needed this treatment. Asking defendants during pretrial interviews about drug usage was beneficial when deciding conditions of release, if any. (Clark and Henry, Jul 1999) The District of Columbia took advantage of the new concept of onsite testing which aided the judicial officers with accurate information. Expanding upon this concept, drug testing during the pretrial phase is used to predict pretrial misconduct, if any. Unfortunately, this data is incorrect due to the fact that an overwhelming number of arrestees tested positive for illegal drug usage, and pretrial misconduct is a rare event. Onsite or offsite, drug testing is a very expensive procedure, along with the fact that the data is inconclusive as to the predictability of the tests, provides an excellent ‘con’ in regards to pretrial drug testing. Having said that, I feel that pretrial drug testing is an excellent tool that needs to be utilized every time. The reason I say this is due to the figures entered above: 75% of all male arrestees were under-the-influence of an illegal drug. Illegal drug usage is a major problem in the United States. If we identify the problem early on, then we should be able to solve the dilemma. Once the defender has been identified, then mandatory drug rehabilitation classes should be attended, regardless of pre or post trial status. These classes are expensive, but enforcing the offender to pay a certain amount and fund the rest by those overabundant pay raises that congress and the senate vote into effect for themselves all the time should help fund mandatory classes. If the United States works on the addicted, then we should be able to reduce the crime rate significantly. With the statistics available...