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Drug Use and Criminal Activity: Some Relationship Indices

NCJ Number
156252
Journal
Drug Forum Volume: 3 Issue: 2 Dated: (Winter 1974) Pages: 161-170
Author(s)
R W Swezey; A N Chambers
Date Published
1974
Length
10 pages
Annotation
The widespread belief that drug addicts are responsible for substantial numbers of crimes was assessed using data from five sources: arrest records, case records from drug treatment programs, data from correctional facilities, and courts, interviews with knowledgeable persons, and the research literature.
Abstract
The data were analyzed on an individual crime basis using the FBI classification system for crime. A total of 85 statistical analyses were calculated. Of these, 17 indicated a greater tendency for nondrug users or persons whose use was unknown than for drug users to commit specific crimes. In 16 cases, the reverse was true. Findings indicated that many generalizations about drug abuse causing crime are oversimplified. Although drug users commit large numbers of crimes, the data call into question the belief that addicts are responsible for the majority of criminal activity of any kind. Therefore, future drug abuse interventions should not tacitly assume that drug abuse is necessarily related to criminal activity without some evidence that the assumption is justified. Tables and 25 references