Operation Tripwire Revisited

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Abstract
A major new proposal to refocus national efforts on heroin addicts in the criminal justice system, called Operation Tripwire, was announced on 1 October 1977. The proposal called for the universal testing of offenders in the criminal justice system for drugs, and the establishment of sustained drug-free status, confirmed by repeated drug testing, as a condition of release to the community. Despite its being grounded in a large body of solid research evidence and meeting vital social needs, Tripwire was never implemented. Today, with the introduction of the Drug Use Forecasting program, we have a more convincing indication of the enormous drug abuse problems in the criminal population. It may be time to dust off and update the original Tripwire idea. If that is to happen, it will require the convergence of many political, media, and fiscal forces, all based on research. The potential beneficiaries of such a development are many, but the odds against it remain long.

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