NCJ Number
208547
Date Published
November 2004
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This report summarizes key findings from the Australian Institute of Criminology’s Drug Use Careers of Offenders (DUCO) female offenders study.
Abstract
The goal of the DUCO female offenders study was to explore the interaction between drug use and criminal offending among women incarcerated in Australia. DUCO studies on male offenders and juvenile offenders were also conducted and the results are reported elsewhere. Participants for the female offenders study were 470 women incarcerated in prisons throughout Australia during 2003. Participants were interviewed regarding their offense histories, drug use, and their perceptions of the link between drug use and criminal offending. The majority of participants reported criminal offending patterns that may be characterized as persistent, as well as histories of extensive drug use. A full 42 percent of participants reported being under the influence of drugs at the time of the index offense. Half of property offenders were motivated to commit their crimes because of the need to buy drugs. Fifty-five percent of the participants considered themselves drug dependent. Risk factors for drug use and offending among females were identified as early exposure to drug and alcohol abuse by family members, incarceration as a juvenile, mental health problems, and histories of physical and sexual abuse. The findings indicate the need for treatment responses to consider a wide range of issues in the treatment of female offenders, some of which lie outside of the traditional criminal justice purview. Tables, figures, references