DOI: 10.3886/icpsr03928.v1
title: Breaking the Cycle of Drugs and Crime in Birmingham, Alabama, Jacksonville, Florida, and Tacoma, Washington, 1997-2001
title: Version 1

description: This study was an evaluation of the Breaking the Cycle
 (BTC) demonstration projects conducted in Birmingham, Alabama,
 Jacksonville, Florida, and Tacoma, Washington, between 1997 and
 2001. The BTC demonstrations tested the feasibility and impact of
 systemwide interventions to reduce drug use among offenders by
 identifying and intervening with drug-involved felony defendants. This
 study contains data collected as part of the impact evaluation of BTC,
 which was designed to test the hypotheses that BTC reduced criminal
 involvement, substance abuse, and problems related to the health,
 mental health, employment, and families of felony drug defendants in
 the demonstration sites. The evaluation examined the relationship
 between changes in these areas and characteristics of the
 participants, the kinds and levels of services and supervision they
 received, and perceptions of defendants about the justice system's
 handling of their cases. It also assessed how BTC affected case
 handling and the length of time required to reach a disposition, the
 number of hearings, and the kinds of sentences imposed. The impact
 evaluation was based on a quasi-experimental comparison of defendants
 in BTC with samples of similar defendants arrested in the year before
 BTC implementation. Interviews were conducted with sample members and
 additional data were gathered from administrative records sources,
such as the BTC programs, arrest records, and court records.
description: This study was an evaluation of the Breaking the
 Cycle (BTC) demonstration projects conducted in Birmingham, Alabama,
 Jacksonville, Florida, and Tacoma, Washington, between 1997 and
 2001. The BTC demonstrations tested the feasibility and impact of
 systemwide interventions to reduce drug use among offenders by
 identifying and intervening with drug-involved felony defendants. The
 BTC strategy was to screen offenders shortly after arrest and require
 those found to use drugs to participate in a drug intervention while
 under criminal justice supervision. BTC targeted all adult felony
 defendants and was not limited to those charged with drug offenses.
 Defendants were ordered to report to BTC for drug screening as a
 condition of pretrial release. Those who reported drug use, tested
 positive for drugs, or were arrested on drug felony charges were
 placed in drug testing and, when appropriate, referred to drug
 treatment or drug education classes. The goal was to expand the scope
 of earlier programs such as drug courts and Treatment Alternatives to
 Street Crime (TASC) by incorporating drug reduction activities as part
 of handling felony cases. The core reforms called for by the BTC model
 were early intervention, judicial oversight, graduated sanctions and
 incentives, and collaboration among justice and treatment agencies.
 This study contains data collected as part of the impact evaluation of
 BTC, which was designed to test the hypotheses that BTC reduced
 criminal involvement, substance abuse, and problems related to the
 health, mental health, employment, and families of felony drug
 defendants in the demonstration sites. The evaluation examined the
 relationship between changes in these areas and characteristics of
 participants, the kinds and levels of services and supervision they
 received, and perceptions of defendants about the justice system's
 handling of their cases (Parts 1, 3, and 5). It also assessed how BTC
 affected case handling, the length of time required to reach a
 disposition, the number of hearings, and the kinds of sentences
imposed (Parts 2, 4, and 6).
description: The conceptual design of the impact evaluation
 focused on two outcomes: (1) goals for offenders, such as reductions
 in drug and alcohol use, criminal activity, health, social, and
 employment problems, perceptions of offenders concerning the fairness
 of the hearings, and the risk and severity of consequences for
 noncompliance with court orders, and (2) system changes, such as the
 number of hearings, number of days between arraignment and case
 disposition, top charge at conviction, and sentences imposed. The
 interventions and services hypothesized to affect offender and system
 outcomes included drug treatment placements, type and duration of drug
 treatment, drug testing, frequency of judicial monitoring, intensity
 of contact with case managers or court supervision staff, the types of
 incentives and sanctions, and the timeliness and consistency of
 sanctioning. In addition, offender characteristics were hypothesized
 to affect both the type of services received and the response. These
 characteristics included demographics, substance abuse pattern and
 severity, employment and educational status, family status and living
 situation, physical and mental health, prior criminal activity, and
 current charge. To assess the first outcome, goals for offenders, the
 impact evaluation consisted of a quasi-experimental comparison of
 defendants in BTC with samples of similar defendants arrested in the
 year before BTC implementation. Parts 1, 3, and 5 contain the data for
 this component of the evaluation for Birmingham, Jacksonville, and
 Tacoma, respectively. These data were collected from records
 maintained by the Breaking the Cycle (BTC) programs and partner
 agencies, as well as from National Crime Information Center (NCIC)
 databases. In addition, interviews were conducted by the Treatment
 Research Institute (TRI) with sample members shortly following arrest
 (baseline) and again nine months later (follow-up). The questionnaires
 consisted of the Addiction Severity Index (ASI), modified to include
 additional questions about illegal activities and participation in
 drug treatment services. In Birmingham (Part 1) respondents were also
 given the Risk of AIDS Behavior questions. In Jacksonville and Tacoma
 (Parts 3 and 5) respondents were asked questions about perceptions of
 fairness and the consequences of noncompliance with court
 orders. Participation in the evaluation was voluntary. TRI staff
 contacted potential sample members shortly after arrest and asked for
 their consent. They were guaranteed confidentiality and offered
 financial incentives for participation. The participants signed a
 written consent form agreeing to participate in the study and allowing
 the research team to collect data from criminal justice and treatment
 agencies. To assess the second outcome, changes in the criminal
 justice system, the impact evaluation assessed how the BTC programs
 affected criminal case processing. Parts 2, 4, and 6 contain court
 data from Birmingham, Jacksonville, and Tacoma, respectively, gathered
 for all felony defendants processed by the courts during a specified
 period of time. The samples were chosen to compare felony cases prior
 to and during BTC implementation to measure the impact of BTC on court
case processing.
description: In Parts 1, 3, and 5, data were collected from the
 BTC program on the sample entry charge, disposition, sentence, and
 re-arrests after BTC. Additional information was gathered with the
 Addiction Severity Index. In particular, respondents were asked about
 medical problems, medical history, education and employment histories,
 income from various sources, drug and alcohol use and abuse, criminal
 history, current living arrangements, family life, and psychological
 problems. Demographic variables include age, gender, race, religious
 preference, years of education, and type of occupation. Interviews in
 Birmingham (Part 1) also included questions from the Risk of AIDS
 Behavior questionnaire. Respondents in Jacksonville (Part 3) and
 Tacoma (Part 5) were only asked a couple of questions about Risk of
 AIDS, including history of sharing needles and cleaning needles and
 sexual history. Additional questions in Jacksonville (Part 3) and
 Tacoma (Part 5) were asked about respondents' assessments of the
 likelihood of arrest or sentencing if they committed another serious
 crime or tested positive for drugs, and respondents' perceptions of
 the fairness of the criminal justice system. Parts 2, 4, and 6 contain
 information from court records. Variables in Part 2 (Birmingham)
 include the type of offense, case status, case action, number of
 hearings to disposition, disposition at first hearing, days from
 arrest to case filing, days from arrest to first hearing, and days
 from arrest to disposition. Part 4 (Jacksonville) includes offender's
 age, race, gender, offense type, number of charges, disposition, type
 of sentence, number of convictions, days from arrest to intake, days
 from arrest to plea, total number of hearings, and days from arrest to
 first hearing. Part 6 (Tacoma) variables include age at arrest,
 gender, race, type of offense, number of counts, method of
 disposition, type of sentence, total sentence in days, days from
 arrest to disposition, days from arrest to arraignment, days from
arrest to pretrial conference, and number of convictions.
description: Response Rates: In Birmingham (Part 1), 91 percent of the felony
 defendants initially identified as eligible for BTC agreed to
 participate in the study. In Jacksonville (Part 3), 47 percent of the
 pre-BTC defendants and 72 percent of the BTC defendants consented to
 participate in the study. In Tacoma (Part 5) 54 percent of the pre-BTC
 sample and 83 percent of the BTC sample agreed to participate in the
 study. However, after gaining consent, some participants in each of
 the sites were subsequently dropped from the study because they were
later determined to be ineligible.
description: Presence of Common Scales: Parts 1, 3, and 5 contain several scales from the
Addiction Severity Index, as well as several Likert-type scales.
description: Parts 1, 3, and 5 consisted of a quasi-experimental
 comparison of defendants in BTC with samples of similar defendants
 arrested in the year before BTC implementation. The sample selection
 procedures were designed to select individuals who would be eligible
 for BTC services, even if selected prior to BTC implementation. Sample
 members were required to be (1) age 18 or older, (2) residents of the
 county or BTC service area, (3) facing a felony charge, and (4)
 involved with illegal drugs as measured by a current drug charge, a
 positive urinalysis screen, or self-reported drug use. A small number
 of potential sample members were excluded because of a language
 barrier, psychiatric impairment, or intoxication at the time they were
 contacted. For Parts 2, 4, and 6 all felony court cases processed
 during specified periods of time before and during BTC implementation
were selected.
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: Birmingham Survey and BTC Data
DS2: Birmingham Court Data
DS3: Jacksonville Survey and BTC Data
DS4: Jackson Court Data
DS5: Tacoma Survey and BTC Data
DS6: Tacoma Court Data
description: Parts 1, 3, and 5: Felony defendants involved with illegal
 drugs in Birmingham, Alabama, Jacksonville, Florida, and Tacoma,
 Washington, respectively. Parts 2, 4, and 6: All felony court cases
 processed in Birmingham, Alabama, Jacksonville, Florida, and Tacoma,
Washington, respectively, between 1997 and 2001. Smallest Geographic Unit: None.
description: (1) Users are strongly encouraged to read the Final
 Report for more detailed information about the sampling and
 methodology for this project. In particular, Appendix A of the Final
 Report contains a detailed methodological report. The Final Report is
 available from the Urban Institute. (2) The user guide, codebook, and
 data collection instruments are provided by ICPSR as Portable Document
 Format (PDF) files. The PDF file format was developed by Adobe Systems
 Incorporated and can be accessed using PDF reader software, such as
 the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Information on how to obtain a copy of the
Acrobat Reader is provided on the ICPSR Web site.