About the Report The Report, Part II: Review of the Re-Entry Process:

chapters and policy statements:
About the Report of the Re-Entry Council

Policy Statement 12, Research Highlight 1

The majority of people in prison and jail has a history of substance abuse.

Eighty percent of state prisoners report a history of drug or alcohol use. [1]   In fact, more than half (55 percent) of state prisoners report using drugs or alcohol during the commission of the crime that resulted in their incarceration. The statistics are similar for those exiting our nation's jails: a full two-thirds of convicted jail inmates were "actively involved in drugs" prior to their admission, and 36 percent were using drugs or alcohol at the time of their offense. [2]   Drug abuse among prisoners does not vary significantly by race or gender, although it does vary by age, with inmates age 44 and under reporting rates of drug and alcohol use significantly below that of their older counterparts. [3]  

  1. Christopher J. Mumola, Substance Abuse and Treatment, State and Federal Prisoners, 1997, US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (Washington, DC: 1999), NCJ 172871. back
  2. Doris James Wilson, Drug Use, Testing, and Treatment in Jails, Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (Washington, DC: 2000), NCJ 179999. back
  3. Christopher J. Mumola, Substance Abuse and Treatment, State and Federal Prisoners, 1997, US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (Washington, DC: 1999), NCJ 172871. back
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