A Systems Dynamic Model for Drug Abuse and Drug-Related Crime in the Western Cape Province of South Africa.

Farai Nyabadza,Lezanie Coetzee

doi:10.1155/2017/4074197

Abstract

The complex problem of drug abuse and drug-related crimes in communities in the Western Cape province cannot be studied in isolation but through the system they are embedded in. In this paper, a theoretical model to evaluate the syndemic of substance abuse and drug-related crimes within the Western Cape province of South Africa is constructed and explored. The dynamics of drug abuse and drug-related crimes within the Western Cape are simulated using STELLA software. The simulation results are consistent with the data from SACENDU and CrimeStats SA, highlighting the usefulness of such a model in designing and planning interventions to combat substance abuse and its related problems.

Highlights

The complex problems that society and researchers face in current times leave no space for one-dimensional thinking with regard to interventions
This study explores the current state of drug abuse and its relation to drug-related crimes within the Western Cape in South Africa from a systems thinking and systems dynamic perspective
The system is studied assuming that there will be a decrease in the percentage of individuals that relapse back into substance abuse and drug-related crime (D) over the five years

Summary

Introduction

The complex problems that society and researchers face in current times leave no space for one-dimensional thinking with regard to interventions. Community level problems cannot be viewed in isolation. They need to be viewed within the system they are embedded in. Substance abuse is one of the complex challenges that researchers in different fields are battling to understand and analyse, especially with regard to the ripple effects it has within communities in terms of drug-related crimes and the spread of sexual transmitted infections. Systems thinking and system dynamics open up new avenues for cross-discipline research. This enables the social sciences and natural sciences to integrate descriptive and quantitative research in order to inform communities and assist stakeholders and policy makers at the same time

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Conclusion