Drug-crime Nexus Research Articles

What Factors Predict the Self-Identification of Drug Dependency Among Australian Police Detainees? Prevalence, Correlates, and Implications for the Criminal Justice System

The drug-crime nexus has received interest from both drug-crime scholars and public policy experts internationally. While there is little disagreement that drug use is linked to higher rates of crime, causation remains hotly contested. One area of emerging interest is the confounding influence of “identity” in shaping long-term behavioral drug use and criminal trajectories. In this study, we explore the prevalence with which recent drug-using police detainees self-identify as drug-dependent and, using logistic regression, model self-identification as a function of one’s demographic, and drug-use profile. We find that being female and younger is associated with an increased odds of self-identifying oneself as dependent, controlling for drug use variables. Of the five drug types, primary heroin users are the most likely to self-identify, whereas cocaine, cannabis, and amphetamine users are less likely. To end, the potential implications of these results are discussed, and future research avenues are explored.

Addressing the crime reduction and harm reduction divide - promoting opioid agonist therapy in the US drug courts

The reduction of harm due to illicit drug use is a common goal of law enforcement and public health sectors. However, law enforcement and public health policies to achieve this goal are often at odds. The burgeoning drug court model in the U.S. provides a unique opportunity to blend law enforcement and treatment approaches to intervene at the drugs-crime nexus. In the U.S., however, vocal resistance to modalities thought of as “harm reduction,” and an emphasis upon supply reduction over demand reduction may hinder realization of the full potential for the drug court treatment model. To illustrate the current socio-political environment in the U.S., this paper begins by examining contributions to the reduction of drug-related harms by the law enforcement and healthcare sectors. Through the example of opioid substitution for opioid use disorders, we then posit a framework under which these often disparate entities may engage in cooperative policies to reduce the individual and societal harms caused by illicit drug use.

Risk, Welfare and the Treatment of Adolescent Cannabis Users in England

Incorporating analysis of data collected from a small sample of interviews within drug-treatment settings, the aim of this article is to critically consider the purpose and scope of adolescent drug treatment with a particular focus on the drugs–crime nexus. A central question is whether treatment can be understood according to the ‘rise of risk’ in advanced liberal democracies, and whether this corresponds to the proposed rupture with ‘welfarist’ approaches to youth justice policy. The findings suggest, in line with other research, that any such rupture may have been overstated. They also suggest that some drug-treatment research has tended towards sweeping accounts of policy changes, when the specificities of age, drug type and history demand more nuanced explanation, as some authors have already argued. Finally, the analysis suggests there should be concern about the extent of ‘net-widening’ within the youth drug-treatment system.

The Recent Evolution of UK Drug Strategies: From Maintenance to Behaviour Change?

Politically, the idea that certain kinds of drugs and drug use are intrinsically linked to certain kinds of criminality – known as the drugs-crime nexus - enjoys continuing salience. This shows little sign of abating. Since 1995, successive strategies have embraced this theme and policies have been developed to try and increase the numbers of drug users entering treatment in a bid to drive down crime rates. Drawing on a review of the relevant literature and an analysis of successive drug strategies and related policy documents, this paper argues that although contemporary drug policy is still underpinned by such notions the suggested means by which crime rates are to be reduced is gradually shifting. Since 2008, there has been a notable change in rhetoric with an increasing use of conditionality in the benefits system coupled with an overt desire to ‘nudge’ those engaging in risky behaviours to amend their ways. This seems to be related to a steady disillusionment with methadone maintenance treatment and a desire to solve the drug-crime problem by promoting the goal of ‘abstinence’. More recently, abstinence has been replaced by the less well-defined term ‘recovery’, but both signal a desire for drug treatment to move away from maintenance. This paper argues that such developments are part of a creeping moralisation that has reemerged in UK social policy over recent decades.

Methamphetamine Use and Criminal Behavior

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

Identifying Leading Characteristics Associated with Juvenile Drug Court Admission and Success

Since first appearing in the late 1980s, drug courts have quickly become one of the leading intervention strategies for offenders exhibiting problems with drug abuse. Popular with policy makers for their innovative approach to breaking the drugs-crime nexus, drug courts are now considered one of the hallmarks of both the adult and juvenile justice systems of corrections. Empirical research has indicated that drug courts are one of the most promising contemporary correctional strategies in reducing recidivism among substance abusing offenders. This study examined a juvenile drug court in an effort to answer some recent research questions that have been proffered by empiricists. Results suggested that clients with a history of mental health problems had greater odds of being admitted to the drug court. No client characteristics, however, were predictive of client success in the drug court. Policy implications are also considered.

Drugs, Crime and Social Exclusion

The association between drugs and crime is one of the central concerns of contemporary British drugs research and policy. Another major concern in recent years has been the clustering together of the most serious problems of drugs and crime in neighbourhoods already experiencing multiple social and economic difficulties. This paper seeks, first of all, to re-situate the drug-crime nexus in its full social context in order to provide a new perspective on these two key aspects of the British drug problem today. In doing so, the analysis raises in applied form some important issues in criminological theory and the paper attempts, secondly, to make a contribution to these theoretical debates.

Barriers to evaluating the effectiveness of drug treatment behind bars

The delivery of substance abuse treatment within correctional settings marks one of the criminal justice system's primary opportunities to disrupt the drugs-crime nexus. Federally funded residential substance abuse treatment programs were rapidly introduced across the nation, although implementation problems increased their operational variability. This article examines how implementation barriers interrelate with other types of obstacles and multiply to hinder determinations of program effectiveness. Specific barriers were identified from a case study of process and outcome evaluations of the South Carolina Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) program. A conceptual framework groups barriers by type into four interrelated domains wherein additive effects and reciprocal consequences that can undermine effective program assessment are illustrated.

The Economics of Crime: Investigating the Drugs-Crime Channel

The rising trends both in drug addiction and crime rates are of major public concern in Germany. Surprisingly, the economic theory of crime seems to ignore the drugs-crime nexus, whereas the criminological literature considers illicit drug use a main reason of criminal activities. This paper provides an econometric assessment of the drugs-crime channel within a Becker-Ehrlich model of crime supply. Estimations based on panel data from the German states allows us to take into account further factors that might influence both drug abuse and crime. The results indicate that drug offences have a significant impact, in particular on property crimes. We attribute this finding to a strong economic-related channel of drug abuse on crime.

The drug–crime nexus in a community sample of adults.

The drug–crime nexus in a community sample of adults.

The drug-crime nexus in a community sample of adults.

The authors tested several theories using prospective data to explain the associations between drug abuse and crime in a community sample of 470 adults. Polydrug problems in early adulthood predicted both criminal behavior and polydrug problems in adulthood. Consequences of drug problems as a young adult included arrests and convictions for drug-related offenses, property damage, and driving under the influence of other drugs. Predictors of later polydrug problems included thefts, driving under the influence of alcohol and other drugs, arrests and convictions for drug-related offenses, and a lack of support for drug problems. Theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.

Drug-crime Relations among Drug-Consuming Juvenile Delinquents: A Tripartite Model and More

From a phenomenological perceptual stance, we aim, in this article at revealing youths' own personal perceptions regarding the drug-crime nexus in their trajectories. Within a qualitative research approach, autobiographical accounts were used with 38 young drug users and delinquents between 16 and 18 years old (22 boys and 16 girls). With the reference point of this article being Goldstein's (1985) tripartite drug-crime model, our results show support for parts of this model as well as nuances to it. Also, another type of drug-crime nexus emerged from these accounts. More specifically, a “psychopharmacological” and a “monetary” drug-crime link were described by youths, and an absent or intermediary relation too. Goldstein's systemic model did not merge in this study. Personal feelings, meanings and logic of youths permit us to elaborate on and further qualify these drug-crime nexuses in the trajectories of young drug users and delinquents.

The Use of the Case-Crossover Design in Studying Illicit Drug Use

The case-crossover design was developed to study time-varying exposures that cause transient excess risk of acute health events. It is a variant of case-control and subject-as-own-control research designs, involving use of information about exposure history of each case to estimate the transient effect. This kind of self-control design can help to reduce sampling bias otherwise introduced in the selection of controls, as well as confounding bias that might be derived from enduring individual characteristics, especially personality traits and other long-standing inherited or acquired vulnerabilities. When the subject is used as his or her own control, these personal vulnerabilities are matched. In this paper we discuss strengths and weaknesses of the case-crossover design and suggest applications of the case-crossover design in epidemiologic studies on suspected hazards of illicit drug use, and in studies of drug use and co-occurring psychiatric disturbances. We conclude that the case-crossover design can play a useful role, but it discloses a need to secure fine-grained measurements in epidemiologic research on psychiatric comorbidity. As explained in the paper, we also believe the case-crossover method may be of use to criminologists who study the drugs-crime nexus, to services researchers and clinicians who seek to understand treatment entry and compliance behavior, and to etiologists interested in polydrug use. [Translations are provided in the International s Section of this issue.]

Editors′ Introduction: Evolving Insights into the Drug-Crime Nexus

(1998). Editors′ Introduction: Evolving Insights into the Drug-Crime Nexus. Substance Use & Misuse: Vol. 33, No. 9, pp. 1763-1777.

Smack, Crack, and Score: Two Decades of NIDA-Funded Drugs and Crime Research at NDRI 1974–1994

Since 1972, National Development and Research Institutes (NDRI) has been fortunate to have on its staff outstanding researchers involved in studying the relationship between drugs and criminality. This paper describes federally-funded research conducted by them. The drug-crime nexus has been an ongoing focus along with drug-user treatment evaluation and AIDS research. Over the two decades, NDRI has had about 20 major “drugs and crime” grants. Key research findings are presented from studies related to violent and nonviolent crime; prison-based treatment; drug use detection; and the use and distribution of heroin, crack, and methadone. [Translations are provided in the International s Section of this issue.]

MEASURING SUCCESS IN PRISON DRUG PROGRAMS

ABSTRACT This paper examines theoretical and methodological issues in the evaluation of prison drug treatment programs. Background issues of rising prison populations, increased drug-using populations and history of prior programming are described. Theoretical concents include the specification of the drug-crime nexus, the basis for clinical models and elements of the therapeutic community. Methodological issues entail the goals of program evaluation, data sources, problems with retrospective data sampling and outcome measures. Examples from three existing programs, Stay-N-Out in New York, TRIAD within the Fedreal Bureau of Prisons and Righturn in California, illustrate these considerations. The paper concludes in suggesting that theory and method must converge in order to measure the success of prison drug programs.

Comparisons of Incarcerated Offenders According to Use of Alcohol and/or Drugs Prior to Offense

Using data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice (1981, 1983), Survey of Inmates of State Correctional Facilities, 1979 and Survey of Jail Inmates, 1978, comparisons are made between incarcerated and sentenced offenders who used drugs only, alcohol only, both drugs and alcohol, and neither drugs nor alcohol prior to the offense. Alcohol and/or drug use prior to the offense is reported by 60% of the offenders. Offenders who used alcohol only make up the largest group among those who used drugs and/or alcohol. The group that used alcohol and drugs prior to the offense is of particular interest. This group represents young offenders who are extensively involved in psychoactive substances, exceeding all other groups. The emergence of this group may signify a trend toward more psychoactive substance use among offender groups and, as such, warrants further investigation. Since existing theoretical explanations focus on either the alcohol-crime or the drug-crime nexus, new theoretical explanations for the alcohol-drug-crime nexus need development. Finally, information on the alcohol and drug offender group suggests that intervention strategies must consider multiple drug use and the special characteristics of offenders with these problems.