DRUG USE AND CRIME - AN EXAMINATION OF DRUG USERS AND ASSOCIATED PERSONS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON CRIME PATTERNS IN AUSTRALIA

• NCJ Number: 54914
• Author(s): G WARDLAW
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 162 pages
• Corporate Author: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Language: English
• Country: Australia

Annotation

FOCUSING ON CRIME DIRECTLY ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE EFFECTS OF A PARTICULAR DRUG AND INCOME-GENERATING CRIMES COMMITTED TO SUPPORT DRUG HABITS, THIS AUSTRALIAN STUDY EXAMINES THE CRIMINAL ROLE OF DRUG ABUSE, PARTICULARY HEROIN USE.

Abstract

REVIEWING PAST RESEARCH, PARTICULARLY THAT FROM THE U.S., THE FIRST SECTION DISCUSSES SOME OF THE IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN DRUG USE AND THE AMOUNT OF CRIME IN A COMMUNITY. IN PARTICULAR, AN ANALYSIS OF DATA FROM THE U.S. SUGGESTS THAT A SUBSTANTIAL PROPORTION OF DRUG USERS COMMIT CRIMINAL OFFENSES PRIOR TO ADDICTION OR HEAVY DRUG USE, A FINDING THAT CASTS SERIOUS DOUBT ON THE WIDELY HELD BELIEF THAT DRUG USE IS A MAJOR CAUSE OF CRIME. AN ANALYSIS OF THE CHARACTERISTICS AND CRIMINAL HISTORIES OF 1,319 DRUG OFFENDERS SELECTED FROM THE RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIA CRIME INTELLIGENCE CENTRE SHOWS THAT NARCOTICS AND CANNABIS USERS ARE DRAWN ESSENTIALLY FROM THE SAME POPULATION, AS MEASURED BY AGE, SEX, NATIONALITY, EMPLOYMENT, AND OTHER FACTORS. WHILE BOTH GROUPS ARE INVOLVED IN CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES, NARCOTICS USERS REPRESENT MORE INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED AND A GREATER LENGTH OF INVOLVEMENT AND AMOUNT OF CRIMINAL ACTIVITY. SUBSEQUENT SECTIONS DISCUSS THE UTILITY OF AN INDEX OF HEROIN-RELATED CRIME COSTS AS AN ANALYTICAL TOOL APPLICABLE TO ASSESSING DRUG TRENDS, ATTEMPT ANALYSES OF THE ECONOMICS OF THE HEROIN INDUSTRY, AND EXAMINE SOME OF THE MAJOR POLICY IMPLICATIONS OF SUCH ANALYSES. IT IS NOTED THAT ESTIMATES OF HEROIN USER CRIME RATES GREAT VALUE FOR PLANNING PURPOSES IF THEIR ACCURACY CAN BE INCREASED, AND HEROIN INDUSTRY ANALYSES INDICATE THAT ALTHOUGH IMPROVED LAW ENFORCEMENT INITIATIVES WOULD EXCLUDE MARGINAL CUSTOMERS AND REDUCE NEW ADDICTION BY TIGHTENING DISTRIBUTION ORGANIZATIONS, THIS WOULD IN TURN CAUSE HEROIN PRICE INFLATION, INCREASED ILLICIT REVENUES, AND BOTH HIGHER SHORT- AND LONG-TERM CRIME RATES DUE TO ADDICTS' INCREASED NEED FOR MONEY. AS SUCH, IT IS CONCLUDED THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT POLICY MUST BE SEEN IN THE CONTEXT OF AN OVERALL DRUG POLICY AND GOAL, AND ANALYSES OF HEROIN USER CRIME RATES SHOULD BE EXAMINED CLOSELY BY THE LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMUNITY IN THE COURSE OF DRUG POLICY DETERMINATION AND EVALUATION. REFERENCES AND TABULAR DATA ARE PROVIDED. (KBL)