There are more people in prison in the U.S. than in any other industrialized nation in the world. Yet we hear from the conservative elements in Congress that the answer is more prisons. Current law enforcement policy has a very strong racial bias. This is why the cultural approach to the treatment of addiction becomes so critical. Different racial and ethnic groups require difference approaches.
Evidence also supports a clear link between alcohol and illicit drug use and crime.
In 1990, there were more than one million arrests for drug offenses and more than three million arrests for alcohol related offenses. It has been estimated that one third to one half of all criminal justice costs are related to alcohol and other types of drug abuse. This is a critical part of the national debate over the crime bill and the need for diversion and treatment. Up to 80 percent of those in the criminal justice system have substance abuse problems, but only 5 percent get any treatment whatsoever. It is crucial that we develop community based models that allow for diversion of treatment to the criminal justice system.