NCJ Number
186657
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 44 Issue: 6 Dated: December 2000 Pages: 667-680
Editor(s)
Adrienne Palermo R.N.
Date Published
December 2000
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This article attempts to identify the scope, frequency, and types of criminal behavior of a selected sample of respondents in methadone maintenance (MM) programs; the nature of the continued substance use of MM clients; and the relationships between possible predictor variables and the degree and type of criminality among MM clients.
Abstract
This article examines self-reported criminal activity in a sample of 86 methadone maintained opioid addicts. Of those sampled, 52 percent reported some criminal offending, with drug-related and property crimes accounting for the majority of the offending. One quarter of the females in the sample were involved in prostitution. Of all the demographic factors used in this study, only gender discriminated between the sample in terms of level of offending, with females reporting the highest crime rates. Heroin use and crime measures were also associated with persistent criminality related to the continued use of heroin. An analysis of the heroin use and criminality association found that only female gender predicted both increased rates of heroin use and increased rates of criminality. Implications of this finding are discussed. References