#11745. Random drug testing in prisons: Does a little testing go a long way?

July 2026publication date
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Journal’s subject area:
Law;
Public Administration;
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More details about the manuscript: Science Citation Index Expanded or/and Social Sciences Citation Index
Abstract:
We investigated whether higher rates of random drug testing lower substance use among people who are incarcerated and improve prison safety. To answer this question, we estimated linear panel two-way fixed effects models using naturally varying monthly rates of random drug testing across prisons over a 45-month period during 20XX–20XX. Overall, we find that the testing rate is not related to any of the variables we consider, including our key measure of interest, positive drug tests. Our analyses of historical monthly data find that higher levels of randomized testing did not yield more positive drug tests among incarcerated persons. Further and importantly, we did not find that lower testing rates was associated with negative consequences on other outcomes, suggesting that marginal increases in testing rates do not generate commensurate benefits. Replication and expansion of our study is required for stronger conclusions.
Keywords:
Corrections; deterrence; drug testing; prisons

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