DRUG USE UP AMONG NEW JAIL INMATES

Drug use skyrocketed among inmates booked into Maricopa County jails
over the past year, especially among White men arrested for
property-related crimes, according to a new report by Arizona State
University.

Using urine tests and inmate questionnaires, researchers found that
the rise of opiate use was especially dramatic among new arrestees,
rising from about 2 percent in 2008 to 20 percent last year, according
to the survey, "Arizona Arrestee Reporting Information Network, Heroin
Alert," which was made public Wednesday.

Last year, about 130,000 inmates were booked into county
jails.

Opiates include heroin, as well as many common prescription pain
medications such as Vicodin, OxyContin, codeine, Demerol and Darvon.

David Choate, assistant director of ASU's Center for Violence
Prevention and Community Safety, said it is unclear why opiate use is
on the rise among inmates, but he noted that prescription-drug use is
rising nationally among the general population.

"We've had a number of years where (opiate use) was very, very
stable," he said. "But over the past year, there's been just an
incredible uptick among the White male property offenders."

The urine specimens and interviews were anonymous and voluntary and
occurred during the booking process.

Capt. Don Marchand, who works at the Fourth Avenue Jail, had not read
the report and said detention officers generally are not aware if new
inmates are using drugs "other than the fact that they go through a
series of withdrawal symptoms."

He said detention officers refer inmates who may be going through
withdrawal to medical staff.

Officials with Correctional Health Services, which provides treatment
to inmates, also had not seen the survey, a county spokeswoman said.

Amy Rex, director of the county's criminal-justice project, speculated
that the rise of opiate use among the offenders is the result of those
who steal to support the habit. "The general public could become a
victim," she said.

Rex said the information will help authorities better understand the
link between drug use and crime. It also should help officials
identify gaps in treatment and make decisions about issues ranging
from drug-use treatment to law-enforcement efforts.

The Board of Supervisors sponsored the survey through an agreement the
Arizona Arrestee Reporting Information Network, which for years has
supplied law-enforcement and other officials with data on inmates to
pinpoint problems and identify solutions.