Drug Testing and Pretrial Misconduct: An Experiment on the Specific Deterrent Effects of Drug Monitoring Defendants on Pretrial Release

Abstract

Recent attempts to improve the validity of prediction models of pretrial misconduct have incorporated the defendant's drug use, as indicated by drug test results. A related and important issue concerns the specific deterrent effect of drug testing the released pretrial population. Does drug monitoring of released defendants alter their drug use and chances for pretrial misconduct? The authors use experimental data from Pima County and Maricopa County, Arizona, where defendants were randomly assigned to drug monitoring and to nonmonitoring groups to explore this issue. Their findings show that in two Pima County samples, there was only a slight reduction in the rate of pretrial rearrest, and there were no differences for failure to appear at trial. In Maricopa County, their first sample shows no difference in the rate of pretrial misconduct between the monitored and nonmonitored groups. The second sample shows the monitored group to have a higher rate of pretrial failure, contrary to expectations. The authors conclude their discussion by noting the research and the policy implications these results hold for future pretrial drug testing efforts.