Quantitative analysis of domestic drug abuse arrests

Keywords

Arrest; Drug abuse

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if various socio-economic factors of a state's population such as age, income, race, education and single-family households were significantly related to drug abuse as measured by arrests. Secondly the study examined if interdiction efforts such as incarceration and increased police presence were more likely to decrease drug abuse as measured by arrests. Ten individual variables were tested quantitatively using data from the 2000 Census and statistics from the Uniform Crime Report, U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The data was analyzed using cross tabulation methods that were checked for statistical significance on the state level. It was determined that there was no significant relationship between those socio­ economic factors tested and a state's level of drug abuse arrests except for education. In regards to education it was determined that as a state demonstrated a higher rate of college graduates it also demonstrated a significant increase in drug abuse arrests. The second part of the study demonstrated that increased numbers/presence of law enforcement officers had no significant relationship to drug abuse arrests and that states that had increased rates of incarceration actually tended to have higher rates of arrest for drug abuse offences. That finding meant that states with tough incarceration policies, rather than deterring incidents of drug abuse were creating more of them. A trend that is considered accelerated as high levels of arrests were made at a time that numerous persons within in such states were no longer free to move about society as they were being held in a detention facility.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2003

Advisor

Kiel, Dwight C.

Degree

Master of Arts (M.A.)

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Political Science

Format

PDF

Pages

60 p.

Language

English

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

Identifier

DP0029087

Subjects

Arts and Sciences -- Dissertations, Academic; Dissertations, Academic -- Arts and Sciences

Accessibility Status

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