NCJ Number
112894
Journal
British Journal of Addiction Volume: 83 Issue: 5 Dated: (May 1988) Pages: 533-540
Date Published
1988
Length
7 pages
Annotation
The links between drug taking and crime are examined in terms of the extent to which drug use leads to crime, crime leads to drug use, and crime and drug use emerge from a common set of circumstances.
Abstract
Data were presented from a larger study on 'Drug Taking in Nottingham and the Links with Crime' (July 1987), and a followup study aimed at identifying the drug knowledge of Nottingham school children. This study identified 170 drug users and interviewed 83. Additional data were gathered from official criminal records. Of the 83 users, 77 reported criminal convictions and 50 reported committing crimes in the last 6 months. The results give little to support the first two propositions, but much to support the third if it is defined in terms of the drug users' position on and contact with the illicit supply system. Data are presented to show that the drug users' relationship to that illicit supply system account for much current crime. Tabular material and 11 references. (Author abstract modified)