Drug Use and Criminal Behaviour: Indirect, Direct or No Causal Relationship? (From Forensic Psychology: Concepts, Debates and Practice, P 140-156, 2004, Joanna R. Adler, ed. -- See NCJ-205397)

• NCJ Number: 205404
• Author(s): Ian P. Albery; Tim McSweeney; Mike Hough
• Date Published: 2004
• Length: 17 pages
• Sale Source: Willan Publishing
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Literature Review
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This chapter reviews contemporary research regarding the relationship between substance use and criminal behavior, particularly property crime.

Abstract

Over the past few decades, psychologists, sociologists, and criminologists have studied possible links between substance abuse, addictive behavior, and criminal activity. The types of links that have been established by empirical research are reviewed. Most research does illustrate a clear association between illicit drug use and some forms of crime, although the association is far from causal. Four types of research are reviewed: studies examining links between offending behavior and drug use in the general population; studies examining drug use within offender populations; studies examining offending within the problem drug using population; and studies examining crime patterns among criminally involved problem drug users. Studies concerning illicit drug use and criminality in the general population have not been able to draw direct causal links between drug use and offending behavior; however, associations have been established, such as they are both forms of risk-taking behavior. Studies of examining drug use within offender populations generally do find high rates of illicit drug use, but again causal links have not been established. Rather, the prevalence of drug users among prison populations may also be explained by the government’s “war on drugs” policy. Studies examining offending behavior within problem drug using populations discovered a strong correlation between criminal behavior and problem drug use, with large percentages of participants reporting the funding of drug use through illegal activities. Studies examining crime patterns among criminally involved problem drug users have revealed that criminally involved problem drug users commit large amounts of acquisitive crime to finance their drug habits, although some studies found that illegal activities pre-dated drug use among this population. Finally, the authors synthesize all the information to present the possible implications of the evidence, which suggests that the “addiction model” of the relationship between drug use and crime, which the “war on drugs” is hinged upon, is overly simplistic and not applicable to the vast majority of offenders. Figure, references