The Correctional Drug Abuse Treatment Effectiveness project obtained and coded evaluation research studies (unpublished as well as published) of treatment/intervention programs reported from 1968 to 1996. Meta-analysis was used to examine evidence for their effectiveness in reducing recidivism for incarcerated offenders who are drug abusers. Results supported the effectiveness of therapeutic community programs but not of boot camps and drug-focused group counseling. Evaluations of other interventions were based on too few studies to draw strong conclusions, but promising treatments that warrant further attention include use of methadone maintenance treatment, substance abuse education, 12-step programs, and cognitive behavioral therapy for offender populations.

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Drug use self-reports were compared with urinalysis for 248 clients in four methadone treatment programs. The validity of self-reporting based on urinalysis as a criterion depended on the type of drug examined. Opiate reporting was least valid, while benzodiazepine and cocaine reporting were moderately and highly valid, respectively. EMIT urinalysis was far more useful as a criterion of validity than TLC urinalysis. Self-reports helped identify drug users who were missed by urinalysis because of the latter's limited detection period, but urinalysis in turn detected an equal number of drug users missed by the interviews. The age of clients and the type of interviewer directly affected the rate of underreporting. Some respondents systematically denied disvalued behaviors (i.e., drug use and criminality), leading to a spurious correlation between these behaviors. This has important implications for future research.

Sponsor special projects and research and development programs that will improve and strengthen the criminal justice system and reduce or prevent crime. s Conduct national demonstration projects that employ innovative or promising approaches for improving criminal justice. s Develop new technologies to fight crime and improve criminal justice. s Evaluate the effectiveness of criminal justice programs and identify programs that promise to be successful if continued or repeated. s Recommend actions that can be taken by Federal, State, and local governments as well as private organizations to improve criminal justice. s Carry out research on criminal behavior. s Develop new methods of crime prevention and reduction of crime and delinquency. The National Institute of Justice has a long history of accomplishments, including the following: s Basic research on career criminals that led to development of special police and prosecutor units to deal with repeat offenders. s Research that confirmed the link between drugs and crime. s The research and development program that resulted in the creation of police body armor that has meant the difference between life and death to hundreds of police officers. s Pioneering scientific advances such as the research and development of DNA analysis to positively identify suspects and eliminate the innocent from suspicion. s The evaluation of innovative justice programs to determine what works, including drug enforcement, community policing, community anti-drug initiatives, prosecution of complex drug cases, drug testing throughout the criminal justice system, and user accountability programs. s Creation of a corrections information-sharing system that enables State and local officials to exchange more efficient and cost-effective concepts and techniques for planning, financing, and constructing new prisons and jails.

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