The purpose of this report is to provide a proof of concept for a different, alternative method for evaluating police agencies. Our method is couched in a comparative approach, which will allow agencies to compare their performance to other police agencies. This report assesses police performance through the perceptions and experiences of recently booked arrestees. By comparing the perceptions and experiences of recently booked arrestees from different jurisdictions we can begin to contextualize results and observe differences that might serve as an early warning of a problem or serve as an indicator of success.

The purpose of this report is to examine methamphetamine use among adult arrestees and juvenile detainees in Maricopa County, Arizona. We relied on data from the Arizona Arrestee Reporting Information Network (AARIN) to address the following five questions:
1. What percent of adult arrestees are methamphetamine users and what are their social characteristics?
2. What is the relationship between methamphetamine use and arresting offense?
3. What is the relationship between methamphetamine use by parents and the presence of children in the household?
4. What percent of methamphetamine users are receiving treatment for their drug use?
5. What percent of juvenile detainees are methamphetamine users and what are their social and legal characteristics?

Maricopa County has experienced remarkable population growth for decades, and will continue to do so. But while expanding metro areas tend to pay close attention to physical infrastructure—diligently budgeting for roads, sewers, schools and the like—there is often a relative lack of attention to meeting the future demands for human services. Relying on the expertise from throughout the College of Public Programs, this report analyzes 12 critically important topics, including children and families, poverty, substance abuse, and Latinos.