Cocaine Use Among a Sample of Police Detainees

• NCJ Number: 206805
• Author(s): Lee Milner; Kiah McGregor
• Date Published: May 2004
• Length: 6 pages
• Corporate Author: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: Australia
• Note: From Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, No. 276

Annotation

This study examined the use of cocaine among a sample of police detainees in Australia.

Abstract

While cocaine use has been relatively low among both the general and high-risk populations in Australia, indicators suggest its use is on the rise, especially among high-risk groups. The recent shortage of heroin in Australia has been attributed to the rise in cocaine use. A 2001 National Drug Strategy Household Survey indicated that only 4.4 percent of the Australian population reported using cocaine during their lifetime. Research findings also revealed that the noted increase in cocaine use between 2000 and 2002 among police detainees was short-lived; use rates returned to usual levels by the end of 2002. Between 2002 and 2003, there was a significant decrease in the number of cocaine arrests; arrests involving cocaine accounted for 0.3 percent of all drug arrests in 2002-2003. A 2003 survey of adult male prisoners in Australia revealed that 32 percent (N=2,135) had used cocaine and 7 percent were regular users of cocaine. The relationship between cocaine and crime is explored; evidence suggests that illicit drug use can lead to an escalation of offending behavior, both in Australia and abroad. Survey findings indicated that levels of cocaine use among police detainees in Sydney were higher than levels found in the general population, but were still low at only 6 percent. Sociodemographic profiles of recent cocaine users are offered, which reveal significant differences between users and nonusers in terms of gender, age, housing status, and income. The majority of cocaine users among police detainees were multiple drug users; 63 percent of detainees who tested positive for cocaine also tested positive for opiates and 51 percent tested positive for cannabis. Recent cocaine users were more likely to have been arrested during the past year and to have spent time in prison in the previous 12 months. The findings thus indicate that cocaine use among high-risk populations in Australia is problematic, as is the use of multiple drugs. Figures, tables, references