Young Adult Arrests - Drug Use/Possession/Sale[view
data]
Data Provider:NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services
Life
Area: Civic Engagement
Definition:
The young adult arrest rate is based on the number of arrests for the use, possession or sale of drugs (public narcotic intoxication), per 10,000 young adults ages 16-21 years.
Significance:
Regular use of controlled substances is strongly related to health, mental health, educational attainment and other social problems for young adults.
Note:
Community indicators are not direct measures of the population's behavior, but are instead measures of the performance of community service systems that generate them. Indicator data produced by public service or social control agencies are affected by policy shifts, resource fluctuations. degrees of centralization and standardization, local reporting practices and local service delivery differences. Local qualitative information regarding the 'role' of the indicator in the context of its service setting must be obtained and applied when interpreting the results of indicator-based studies. The rate of young adult drug arrests is a direct measure of the law enforcement response to young adults and drug use and an indirect measure of young adult drug use in the population.
Findings:
In 2009, there were 33,827 adolescent arrests for drug offenses statewide. This represents a decrease of 20.9 percent from the 42,773 reported in 2000. The majority of drug arrests occurred in New York City (75.2%), but the Non-New York City region has been accounting for a larger share over the last decade (from 17.9% in 2000 to 24.8% in 2009). This reflects the growth in adolescent drug arrests in Non-New York City (up 9.1% between 2000 and 2009) while New York City reported a 27.5 percent decline during the same period.
The rate of drug arrests per 10,000 youth ages 16 through 21 was 206.4 in 2009 in New York State. This rate was almost 4 times higher in New York City (387.2) than in Non-New York City (85.4).
KWIC
Indicator(s) and Narrative For: