HEROIN USE AND STREET CRIME

• NCJ Number: 58886
• Journal: Crime and Delinquency Volume: 25 Issue: 3 Dated: (JULY 1979) Pages: 335-346
• Author(s): J A INCIARDI
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 12 pages
• Corporate Author: National Council on Crime and Delinquency
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

RESULTS ARE REPORTED FROM A STUDY OF 356 ACTIVE HEROIN USERS IN TERMS OF OFFICIALLY KNOWN AND SELF-REPORTED CRIMINAL ACTIVITY.

Abstract

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HEROIN USE AND STREET CRIME HAS BEEN STUDIED FOR THE BETTER PART OF THIS CENTURY, BUT THE FINDINGS HAVE BEEN INCONCLUSIVE. RESEARCH IN THIS AREA HAS BEEN LIMITED TO ANALYSES OF CRIMINALITY IN TERMS OF ARREST DATA, AND SAMPLES HAVE BEEN DRAWN ONLY FROM OFFICIALLY KNOWN POPULATIONS OF DRUG USERS. THE PRESENT STUDY FOCUSES ON A SAMPLE OF 356 ACTIVE HEROIN USERS FROM MIAMI, FLA., AND DATA HAVE BEEN COLLECTED REGARDING THEIR DRUG USE PATTERNS, CRIMINAL HISTORIES, AND CURRENT CRIMINAL ACTIVITY. THE DATA DOCUMENT A HIGH INCIDENCE AND DIVERSITY OF CRIMINAL INVOLVEMENT AMONG BOTH MALE AND FEMALE HEROIN USERS. THE 356 SUBJECTS REPORTED INVOLVEMENT IN A TOTAL OF 118,134 CRIMINAL OFFENSES DURING A 12-MONTH PERIOD. MOST OFFENSES WERE COMMITTED IN ORDER TO MEET THE ECONOMIC NEEDS OF A DRUG-USING CAREER. THE MALES MANIFESTED A GREATER INVOLVEMENT IN PREDATORY CRIME, PARTICULARLY VIOLENT PREDATORY CRIME, THAN DID THE FEMALES. ARREST RATES AMONG THE SUBJECTS WERE LOW, HOWEVER. THERE WAS A RATIO OF 1 ARREST FOR EVERY 413 CRIMES COMMITTED. FROM ONE PERSPECTIVE OF THE DATA, CRIMINAL ACTIVITY CAN BE VIEWED AS PREDATING SUBJECTS' DRUG-USING CAREERS, SINCE THE MEDIAN POINT OF THE FIRST CRIME IS SLIGHTLY BELOW THAT OF FIRST DRUG ABUSE AND IS CONSIDERABLY BEFORE THE ONSET OF HEROIN USE. FROM ANOTHER VIEWPOINT, HOWEVER, IF ALCOHOL ABUSE IS CONSIDERED, THEN CRIME IS CLEARLY A PHENOMENON THAT SUCCEEDS SUBSTANCE ABUSE. IN THE POPULATION OF FEMALE HEROIN USERS, CRIMINAL ACTIVITY OCCURED AFTER BOTH ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE AND AFTER MARIJUANA USE, BUT BEFORE INVOLVEMENT WITH THE MORE DEBILITATING BARBITURATES AND HEROIN. ALTHOUGH THE FINDINGS HERE ARE DESCRIPTIVE OF ONLY ONE POPULATION, WHICH COULD BE UNIQUE, THEY SUGGEST THAT THE PURSUIT OF SOME SIMPLE CAUSE-AND-EFFECT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HEROIN USE AND STREET CRIME MAY BE FUTILE. IMPLICATIONS OF THIS STUDY FOR FUTURE RESEARCH REGARDING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DRUG ABUSE AND STREET CRIME ARE INDICATED. TABULAR DATA IS PRESENTED. (RCB)