NCJ Number
90794
Date Published
1982
Length
11 pages
Annotation
The importance of automobile ownership among addicts as a factor in drug-related crimes was the focus of a 1981 study of 99 injection-drug addicts jailed in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1980.
Abstract
About a third of the addicts owned at least one car, although more than half of those owning cars owned at least two. This tendency to own multiple cars suggests the possibility of a well-developed, organized method for loaning out or renting out cars. In one case, a subject owned 50 cars. Researchers found that in very few cases had the addict bought or sold the car to a company. Usually the cars were sold to private persons, many of the buyers being narcotics users also. Eighty-nine of the subjects had no drivers' license. Ninety-eight had been arrested for felonies other than their drug use. For the whole sample, the total number of crimes committed for 1980 was 6,709 or 70 per person. For the years 1976-79, the average number of offenses per person per year was 5 to 6. The number of offenses for car-owning offenders and noncar-owning offenders was studied for 1976-79. Statistics show that car owners accounted for about 43 crimes per person, while the nonowners accounted for about 21. Traffic offenses for the first group made up the biggest part of the difference between the offense totals. Overall, a relationship between automobile ownership and crime among drug addicts is not indicated. However, the subject needs further research. Tabular study data are included.