Methamphetamine Use and Criminal Behavior

• NCJ Number: 233366
• Journal: International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 54 Issue: 6 Dated: December 2010 Pages: 915-936
• Author(s): Michael C. Gizzi; Patrick Gerkin
• Date Published: December 2010
• Length: 22 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2007CKWX0302
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This research seeks to broaden understanding of methamphetamine's (meth's) place within the study of drugs and crime.

Abstract

Through extensive court records research and interviews with 200 offenders in local jails in western Colorado, this research contributes to the creation of a meth user profile and begins to identify the place of meth in the drugcrime nexus. The study compares the criminal behavior of meth users with other drug users, finding that meth users are more likely than other drug users to be drunk or high at the time of arrest and claim their crimes were related to drug use in other ways. A content analysis of criminal records demonstrates that meth users have more extensive criminal records and are more likely than other drug users to commit property crimes. (Published Abstract)