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Measures and Patterns of Criminality Among Narcotic Addicts The Role of Nonnarcotic Drugs - Executive Summary

NCJ Number
102158
Author(s)
J W Shaffer; D N Nurco; T W Kinlock
Date Published
Unknown
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This report summarizes the methodology and findings of a study of crime patterns among narcotic addicts in relation to level and type of drug use.
Abstract
Between July 1973 and January 1978, interviews were conducted with 354 male narcotic (principally heroin) addicts from the Baltimore metropolitan area. The subjects represented a stratified random sample from a population of 6,149 known narcotics users arrested or identified by the Baltimore police between 1952 and 1976. The sample was unselected for criminality but stratified by race and year of police contact. All subjects had used narcotics on at least 4 days a week for at least 1 month while in the community. Each subject described his narcotic addiction, abstinence, and incarceration periods, with the criteria for successive addiction periods being the same as that for inclusion in the study. All crimes reported by the subjects were placed in one of the following five categories: theft, violence, drug dealing, confidence games, and other. Subjects indicated the crimes committed during periods when they were and were not actively addicted to narcotics. Subjects were also questioned about their use of nonnarcotic substances during each period of addiction and nonaddiction. Type and frequency of crime varied by race (black or white) and type of drug used. Users of certain types of nonnarcotic drugs tended to commit certain types of crime more frequently than did nonusers. A significant majority of addicts, both black and white, derived the bulk of their income from illegal sources during periods of active addiction, but this percentage diminished during nonaddiction periods.