NCJ Number
167014
Date Published
1996
Length
69 pages
Annotation
This literature review examines English-language research about the relationship between drug abuse and crime and on ways within the criminal justice system of reducing demand for illegal drugs among drug-dependent persons and others who fund their drug use through crime.
Abstract
The analysis revealed that illegal drug use is widespread, and most drug users are not drawn into other forms of crime as a result of drug abuse. A significant minority of crime is drug-related in that the proceeds of the offense happen to be spent on drugs, but a smaller proportion is drug-driven in that the crime is committed solely to pay for drugs. The costs that drug misusers impose on victims and the criminal justice system are substantial. Strategies for reducing drug demand among addicts and drug abusers include low-level law enforcement to disrupt drug purchases and arrest referral programs. In addition, methadone maintenance programs reduce both illegal heroin use and related crime. Moreover, medically supervised detoxification has no benefits over unsupervised detoxification. The crucial elements of successful treatment appear to be moving drug abusers with serious drug problems into treatment quickly; keeping them there for as long as possible and for a minimum of 3 months; and delivering treatment in a positive and supportive setting with incentives for staying in treatment. The criminal justice system can be an important conduit through which drug users with serious drug problems reach treatment. Although prisons may appear to offer unique opportunities for drug treatment, the positive values that inmate culture sometimes places on drugs can subvert programs. Figures and approximately 200 references