Does drug use cause crime or does crime cause drug use?

Does drug use cause crime, does crime cause drug use or is the relationship entirely co-incidental?INTRODUCTIONIn this paper I will look at the amount and type of crime caused by drugs, the relationship between drugs and crime and the relationship between alcohol and crime.

Crime is defined as:An act committed in violation of a law forbidding or commanding it and for which punishment is imposed upon convictionUnlawful activityA serious offence, especially in violation of moralityCauses of CrimeFirstly, let us explore crime and it’s causes.

There are five main theories about what causes crime:1.The Classical TheoryCrime is caused by the individual’s free will.

Human beings are rational and make decisions freely with understanding of the consequences.

Crime is an immoral form of behaviour.

Immoral behaviour will weaken society.

2.The Biological TheoryThe basic determinants of human behaviour are to a considerable degree determined by genetics.

These basic determinants may be passed on from one generation to the next, criminal behaviour is genetically inherited.

Human dna, environmental contaminants, nutrition, hormones, physical trauma and body chemistry all combine to contribute to criminal behaviour.

3. Psychobiological TheoryChromosomal anomalies, reactions to foods, vitamin deficiencies or environmental allergies combined with a particular genetic makeup will predispose some individuals to criminal behaviour.

4.Sociological TheoryThe social environment is the cause of criminal behaviour. With weak or broken bonds to family school and religion being the catalyst to criminal behaviour.

People engage in criminal behaviour because they do not see the benefits of adhering to conventional social values and believe crime is a way to improve personal social conditions.

5.Interactionist TheoryAssociating with other criminals is the factor most contributing to criminal behaviour among individuals.

Failure of self direction and inadequate social roles are the root causes of criminal behaviour.

These same theories can be also used to explain drug use.

Possession As A Cause of CrimeThis graph below shows just how much crime is caused by possession and supply of drugs. How the vast amount of this is people caught in possession of drugs for personal use, a high amount of these cases are people caught with cannabis. A survey carried out in 2006/2007 by the National Advisory Committee on Drugs (N.A.C.D.) in Ireland and the Public Health Information and Research Branch (P.H.I.R.B.) showed that 21.9% used cannabis therefore making nearly one quarter of the population criminals if caught.

(Eoin O Sullivan, Trinity College Handouts 08/12/2008)This next table is from Canada which shows the number of police reported incidents broken down into the type of drug:NUMBER OF POLICE-REPORTED INCIDENTS BY TYPE OF DRUG, 1996 TO 20001996 1997 1998 1999 2000Marijuana 47,234 47,933 50,917 60,011 66,171Cocaine 11,478 11,468 12,183 11,963 12,812Heroin 1,287 1,235 1,323 1,323 1,226Other drugs* 5,730 5,957 6,509 6,845 7,736Total 65,729 66,593 70,922 80,142 87,945* “Other drugs” include other illegal substances such as PCP, LSD and Ecstasy as well as controlled substances such as barbiturates and anabolic steroids.

R. Logan, “Crime Statistics in Canada, 2000,” Juristat, Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, 85-002-xie, Vol. 21, No. 8, 2001, p. 11.

With cannabis accounting for three quarters of the offences, 68% of these for possession. It seems that cannabis causes most of the drug crime. Across the world in 1998 these figures were mirrored with cannabis being the drug most commonly occurring in drug related arrests in the E.U.

In France 85% of drug arrests were for cannabis.

In Australia 80% of drug arrests were for cannabis.

In the Uk 76.1% of drug arrests were for cannabis.

In the United States though only 40.5% were related to cannabis, still a huge number by any standards.

With hard drugs thought to cause the most crime this study begs to differ showing that cannabis accounts for the vast amount of all recorded drug crime. So when we think of crime we think of the higher end, assaults and muggings where in fact most crime is for possession of cannabis.

Hard Drugs Causing CrimeA study in 1997 carried out by the Garda Research Unit in the Dublin Metropolitan Region found that out of 19,046 serious crimes 7,757 people were apprehended. Out of these, 3.356 were known to be users of hard drugs such as opiates, hypnotics, stimulants and hallucigens. The study came to the conclusion that these hard drug users were responsible for 665 of these crimes (Keogh 1997). It was also found that 51% of these had been involved in crime before using drugs and 48% had family members involved in crime.

1996 2001Crime as main source of income 59% 13%Unemployment rate among drug users 84% 55%Most common age of first taking drugs 15 years 15 yearsDrug first used ” cannabis 51% 55%Drug first used ” heroin 32% 27%First introduced to drugs by friend 81% 86%Estimated daily expenditure on drug eur51 eur75Percentage who sourced drugs from local drug dealer 46% 76%Crime came before drugs 51% 33%Drugs came before crime 30% 56%Drug use and crime started together 19% 11%Percentage who had been in prison 81% 66%Keogh, E. $1997% I!icit Drug use and Related Criminal Activity in the Dublin Metropolitan Area. Dublin: An Garda Siochana / Furey, M.

and Browne, C. $2003% Opiate Use and Related Criminal Activity in Ireland 2000 and 2001. Templemore: Garda Siochana Research Unit.

Two of the major studies on drug users and violent crime that have been carried out in Ireland concerning drug use and crime D’arcy, 2000 and Furey and Browne 2004 found that most of the crimes committed by heroin users were crimes against the person or property. D’arcy found that 41.4% of those surveyed committed crimes against the person. Of these 6.3% committed assault, 22% were for mugging, 10% were for armed robbery with a syringe and 3% armed robbery with a knife. Though, over half (58.6%) stated they never committed such a crime. Furey and Browne found heroin users were responsible for 23% of all larceny offences, 37% of all burglaries, 4% of assaults but found that 49% of those surveyed had been convicted of robbery.

Another study carried out in Ireland, the Keogh study found that non drug users carried out the majority of violent crimes. Non drug users carried out 83% of all sexual offences, 78% of all murders and assaults and 61% of all fraud offences. (Keogh 1997)Keogh also suggests that crime comes before drug use. Of the hard drug users surveyed 77% had a criminal record, out of these 51% had committed crime before ever picking up drugs. 19% started their crime and drug use simultaneously and 30% took drugs first and then became involved in crime. (Keogh 1997) These figures seem to back up Pudney’s theory that drug use does not cause crime but does speed up the rate of crime committed by the offender once they start using drugs. (Pudney 2002)Alcohol Use and CrimeIn 1998 another study was carried out by the Garda Research Unit to examine the association between alcohol use and crime.

Out of 4,334 offences 42% were due to alcohol, 17% due to drugs and 4% to a combination of both. The study found that alcohol related crime was most likely to be of the public order type whereas drug crime was property crime or robberies. In the drug associated crime opiates were the most prelevant in two thirds of all cases. (Millar, O Dwyer & Finnegan, 1998)In figures taken from the Garda Siochana’s annual report in 2005 for principal offences for which referrals were made of juveniles alcohol accounted for 20% of all referrals while drug possession being only 6% stating that alcohol causes more crime among young people than drugs. (Garda Siochana’s Annual report 2005, p50)Studies in the United states found that on an average day in 1996 5.3 million people were convicted for crimes in the country. 40% of these (around 2 million) had been consuming alcohol at the time they were arrested. (Greenfield, Lawrence A)Six in ten convicted prisoners admitted that they had been drinking on a regular basis on the year previous to the offence they had been imprisoned for.

Roughly two thirds of these prisoners reported that they had previously been in a treatment program for alcohol abuse. (Greenfield, Lawrence A)Four out of every ten convicted murderers in prison stated that alcohol use was a factor in the committal of the murder. Nearly 50% of those convicted for assault had been drinking while they committed the assault. (Greenfield, Lawrence A)A study by the National Centre on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University in the United States found that alcohol is associated with more violent crime than any illegal drug. 21% of violent offenders committed their crime while under the influence of only alcohol, 3% were under the influence of crack or cocaine and 1% were under the influence of heroin. (Califano 1998)These figures would seem to suggest that contrary to public perception alcohol use causes more overall crime, headline crime and crime in general than drugs.

CONCLUSIONWith regards to the question does drug use cause crime, does crime cause drug use or is the relationship entirely co-incidental there are three main theories1. Substance use leads to crime.

2. Crime leads to substance use.

3. The relationship is entirely co-incidental or can be explained by a set of common causes.

Each of these are true in their own way and as I have outlined in this paper each can be proven to be right. The issue is so complex that one could not conclude that one of these issues is right and the other two are wrong. As human beings are different, causes for crime so varied and complex and causes for drug use so varied and complex. Also behaviours of people addicted to drugs so varied and complex as to the means they use to support their drug use. With so many variables it is very hard if not impossible to prove one of these theories to be exact. What we can say based on the figures is that the crime committed is not what we would expect it to be with possession of cannabis and alcohol use causing the vast amount of crime.

Alcohol use seems to cause most of the headline crime and crime in the higher end of the scale whereas drug use seems to get all the attention and blame for being the cause of crime, because alcohol use is more acceptable it is perhaps easier to lay the blame for crime at the feet of drug users. While acknowledging that drug use does cause crime and drug use appears to speed up the rate of offending this is miniscule compared to the severity and amount of crime caused by alcohol.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Califano, Joseph, Behind Bars: Substance Abuse and America’s Prison Population, Forward by Joseph Califano, The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (1998).

D’Arcy J (2000) Drugs and community: an exploration of the nature andextent of drug use in the greater Blanchardstown area. Dublin: GreaterBlanchardstown Response to Drugs.

Furey M and Browne C (2004) Opiate use and related criminal activity inIreland 2000 & 2001. Research report No. 4/03. Templemore, CoTipperary: An Garda Síochána Research Unit..

Garda Síochána (1970-2005) Annual Reports of An Garda Síochána from1970 to 2005. Dublin: Stationery Office.

Greenfield, Lawrence A., US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Alcohol and Crime: An Analysis of National Data on the Prevalence of Alcohol Involvement in Crime (Washington, DC: US Department of
Justice, April, 1998), p. 20.

Keogh E (1997) Illicit drug use and related criminal activity in the DublinMetropolitan Area. Dublin: An Garda Síochána.

R. Logan, “Crime Statistics in Canada, 2000,” Juristat, Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, 85-002-xie, Vol. 21, No. 8, 2001, p. 11.

Pudney S (2002) The road to ruin? Sequences of initiation into drug useand offending by young people in Britain. London: Home Office.