PRELIMINARY REPORT ON CRIME AND ADDICTION WITHIN A COMMUNITY-WIDE POPULATION OF NARCOTIC ADDICTS

• NCJ Number: 56290
• Journal: Drug and Alcohol Dependence Volume: 2 Issue: 2 Dated: (MARCH 1977) Pages: 109-121
• Author(s): D N NURCO; R L DUPONT
• Date Published: 1977
• Length: 13 pages
• Grant Number(s): 1R01 DA 00417
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Health, Education, and Welfare
• Corporate Author: Elsevier Sequoia Sa
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: READ AT THE 38TH SCIENTIFIC MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE ON PROBLEMS OF DRUG DEPENDENCE, DIVISION OF MEDICAL SCIENCES, NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL, RICHMOND, VA, 1976

Annotation

CRIMINALITY INCIDENCE IN 252 BLACK AND WHITE MALE ADDICTS IDENTIFIED AS NARCOTICS ABUSERS BY THE BALTIMORE, MD., POLICE DEPARTMENT, 1952-1971, IS EXAMINED FOR RACIAL DIFFERENCES BEFORE AND AFTER FIRST REGULAR DRUG USE.

Abstract

FINDINGS GENERALLY SUPPORT PREVIOUS STUDIES CONCERNING THE INCREASE OF CRIMINAL ACTIVITY AFTER THE ONSET OF NARCOTIC ADDICTION. BLACK ADDICTS TEND TO COMMIT MORE CRIMES, AND MORE SERIOUS CRIMES, THAN WHITE ADDICTS BEFORE FIRST USE OF NARCOTICS AND AFTER THE ONSET OF ADDICTION. FURTHER, WEIGHTED CRIME INDEX SCORES OF BOTH THE 'BEFORE' AND 'AFTER' SEGMENTS APPEAR HIGHER FOR BLACKS WHO BECAME ADDICTED IN THE MOST RECENT YEARS, WHILE THIS APPEARS TRUE OF WHITES ONLY AFTER THE ONSET OF THEIR ADDICTION. THE STUDY INVESTIGATED A COMMUNITYWIDE POPULATION OVER TIME, CREATING TIME-PERIOD COHORTS FOR EACH RACE. THE ADDICTS WERE INTERVIEWED TO PROVIDE ETHNIC GROUP, MONTH AND YEAR OF THE FIRST USE OF A NARCOTIC DRUG, AND THE DATE OF ONSET OF REGULAR USE (DAILY ADMINISTRATION OF OPIATES FOR 1 MONTH OR LONGER). FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION RAP SHEETS WERE THE ONLY SOURCE OF CRIMINAL DATA. ALL DRUG LAW VIOLATIONS WERE EXCLUDED, AND THE CRIMES WERE SUBDIVIDED BY CAREER SEGMENT (BEFORE OR AFTER FIRST USE AND ADDICTION) FROM THE FOLLOWING MAIN CATEGORIES: (1) CRIMES OF VIOLENCE, (2) CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY, (3) OTHER MAJOR CRIMES, (4) OTHER MINOR CRIMES, AND (5) INVESTIGATIONS ONLY. DURING THE PERIOD BEFORE FIRST NARCOTIC USE, A VERY LARGE MAJORITY OF THE ADDICTS HAD EITHER NO INVOLVEMENT WITH THE POLICE OR WERE INVOLVED LESS THAN ONCE EVERY 2 YEARS. BLACKS EXHIBITED A TENDENCY TOWARD GREATER PRENARCOTIC INVOLVEMENT IN THE MORE RECENT TIME PERIODS. AFTER THE ONSET OF ADDICTION, A CONSIDERABLE INCREASE IN INVOLVEMENT IS FOUND. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WHITES AND BLACKS IN EACH COHORT WERE MINOR; THERE ARE SLIGHTLY HIGHER PROPORTIONS OF BLACKS INVOLVED IN SLIGHTLY MORE CRIMES, AND THERE IS A POSSIBLE TENDENCY FOR BLACKS TO BE INVOLVED IN MORE SERIOUS CRIMES. FINDINGS FROM A WEIGHTED CRIME INDEX COMPUTED FOR EACH RESPONDENT FOR EACH OF THE TWO CAREER SEGMENTS ARE CONSISTENT WITH THESE FINDINGS. CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY CONSTITUTED THE LARGEST SINGLE CATEGORY AND REPRESENTED A LARGER PROPORTION OF CRIMES AMONG BLACKS. CRIMES OF VIOLENCE ARE PROPORTIONATELY MORE FREQUENT AMONG BLACKS. FOR WHITES, THE KIND OF POLICE CONTACTS AFTER ADDICTION ARE NOT DRASTICALLY DIFFERENT THAN FROM BEFORE FIRST USE OF NARCOTICS, EXCEPT FOR A DECREASE IN MORE SERIOUS CRIMES; A CORRESPONDING INCREASE IN THE PROPORTION INVOLVING LESS SERIOUS CRIMES AMONG BLACKS REMAINS HIGHER THAN THE PROPORTION OF SERIOUS CRIMES AMONG WHITES. SUPPORTING DATA AND REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--MPL)