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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 10:36 pm
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Results for drug abuse and crime (australia)
8 results foundAuthor: Haynes, R. Title: Drug Trends and Crime Tracking: Relationships Between Indices of Heroin, Amphetamine and Cannabis Use and Crime Summary: Illicit drug use is associated with a range of harms to individuals, families and the wider community, and is a contributing factor to disability and death. In addition, illicit drug use is associated with crime. In 2004–05 it is estimated that drug related crime cost the Australian community $4 billion. Due to the wide range of harms associated with illicit drug use, it is important to examine the relationships between the prevalence of illicit drug use and health-related outcomes. However, as illicit drug use is also associated with crime and criminal behaviour it is also important to consider the effects of illicit drug use and availability on crime. This research was funded by the Office of Crime Prevention as a 'Crime Futures' research project. A primary objective was to investigate the potential for drug use indicators to be identified as a planning or 'early warning' tool for changing drug use trends. It was considered that the identification of reliable indicators would assist policy makers and service organisations in the health, welfare and justice sectors to plan in advance for changes in drug use patterns. Details: Perth: Government of Western Australia, Drug and Alcohol Office, 2010. 54p. Source: Internet Resource: Drug and Alcohol Office Monograph: No. 6: Accessed December 20, 2010 at: http://www.crimeprevention.wa.gov.au/uploads/file/Drug%20Trends%20and%20Crime%20Report.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Australia URL: http://www.crimeprevention.wa.gov.au/uploads/file/Drug%20Trends%20and%20Crime%20Report.pdf Shelf Number: 120554 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug Abuse and Crime (Australia)Drug Abuse Policy |
Author: Kevin, Maria Title: Evaluation of the Drug and Alcohol Addiction and Relapse Prevention Programs in Community Offender Services: One Year Out Summary: Community Offender Services (COS), NSW Department of Corrective Services (NSW DCS) is responsible for the management of offenders serving community-based sentences across 60 offices in NSW. The Drug and Alcohol Addiction (DAAP) and Relapse Prevention (RPP) programs were designed to be delivered by Probation and Parole Officers (PPOs) who supervise the offenders. These new programs formed part of a Drug and Alcohol Intervention strategy that aimed to enhance the range of options that PPOs may use to assist community-based offenders under supervision in breaking the cycle of drug1 dependency and crime. COS received NSW Drug Summit funding to develop and implement these programs and to evaluate their effectiveness in terms of program outputs and participant outcomes. This report covers the first year of the program to end September 2006. Details: Sydney: Corporate Research, Evaluation & Statistics, NSW Department of Corrective Services, 2008. 24p. Source: Research Bulletin No. 24: Internet Resource: Accessed March 20, 2012 at Year: 2008 Country: Australia URL: Shelf Number: 124619 Keywords: Drug Abuse and Crime (Australia)Drug Addiction and Abuse (Australia) - Alcohol AbuIntervention Programs (Australia)Offender SupervisionParoleProbation |
Author: Bradford, Deborah Title: Illicit Drug Use and Property Offending among Police Detainees Summary: Aim: The primary objective of the current study was to examine whether the frequency of recent illicit drug use is related to higher levels of offending among police detainees in Australia. In particular, the study investigated whether the frequency of property offending escalates with offenders’ self-reported illicit drug use. Method: Data from the Australian Institute of Criminology’s Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) program were analysed for a national cohort of 9,453 arrestees interviewed between 2008 and 2010. Statistical analysis examined whether the number of property offences recorded at arrest was related to self-reported frequency of illicit opioid and amphetamine consumption in the 30 days prior to arrest, while controlling for other relevant drug use and demographic factors. Results: Results showed a high level of illicit drug use among police detainees. Outcomes from regression modelling revealed that heavy users of illicit opioids and amphetamines, who reported at least 16 days of use in the month prior to arrest, had significantly more property charges recorded at arrest than both less frequent (moderate) users and nonusers. Compared to non-users, heavy opioid users had 57 per cent more property charges recorded at arrest while heavy amphetamine use was associated with a 53 per cent increase in property charge counts. Higher rates of property offending were also related to younger age, being unemployed and having reported illicit use of benzodiazepines in the 30 days prior to arrest. Conclusion: These outcomes clearly demonstrate that heavy drug use, of either amphetamines or opioids in the 30 days prior to arrest, is associated with frequency of property offending. This has important implications for the treatment of drug using offenders within the criminal justice system. Details: Sydney: NSW Bureau of Crime and Statistics Research, Australian Institute of Criminology, 2012. 12p. Source: Crime and Justice Bulletin, Contemporary Issues in Crime and Justice No. 157: Internet Resource: Accessed March 21, 2012 at http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/bocsar/ll_bocsar.nsf/vwFiles/CJB157.pdf/$file/CJB157.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Australia URL: http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/bocsar/ll_bocsar.nsf/vwFiles/CJB157.pdf/$file/CJB157.pdf Shelf Number: 124643 Keywords: Drug Abuse and Addiction (Australia)Drug Abuse and Crime (Australia)Drug Offenders (Australia)Police Custody (Australia)Police Detainees (Australia)Property Crime (Australia) Drug Use (Australia) |
Author: Gately, Natalie Title: Amphetamine Users and Crime in Western Australia, 1999–2009 Summary: Statistics consistently highlight a higher prevalence of the use of amphetamines in Western Australia compared with other Australian drug markets. It is the third most commonly used drug in Western Australia behind cannabis and ecstasy. Using data collected by Drugs Use Monitoring Australia (DUMA) program at the East Perth watch-house, researchers from Edith Cowan University explore the relationship between amphetamine use and the crimes committed by detainees who have used this drug. Findings include that amphetamine users are more likely to commit property, robbery and weapons offences than users of other drugs. However, users are no more prone to violent offences, which supports other studies of amphetamine users and their criminal behaviours. It is also concluded that the failure to reduce the use of amphetamines has a cumulative social and health cost to the community. Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 6p. Source: Internet Resource: Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice No. 437: Accessed July 7, 2012 at: http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/tandi/421-440/tandi437.aspx Year: 2012 Country: Australia URL: http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/tandi/421-440/tandi437.aspx Shelf Number: 125491 Keywords: AmphetaminesDrug Abuse and Addiction Drug OffendersDrug Abuse and Crime (Australia) |
Author: Sutherland, Rachel Title: Criminal Activity Among Regular Ecstasy Users in Australia: Prevalence and Predictors Summary: The relationship between drug use and crime has been studied extensively over the past few decades, with both international and Australian studies showing that drug users are more likely to engage in crime than those who do not use drugs (AIHW 2011; Bennett et al. 2008). Indeed, a meta-analysis of studies published between 1980 and 2003 found that the odds of offending were three to four times greater for drug users than nondrug users - with the odds of offending being highest among crack users and lowest among recreational drug users (Bennett at al. 2008). In addition it has been well-established that, among those who use drugs, frequency of use is positively correlated with prevalence of crime (Nurco et al 2001; French et al 2000). There are several theories which exist to explain this relationship, however it remains unclear how much of a drug user’s offending can be attributed directly to their substance use. This question was most recently addressed by the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC), which has been running the Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) program for more than 13 years. Through this program the AIC found that nearly half of 1,884 police detainees across Australia attributed their current offending to alcohol or drugs. Interestingly, more detainees attributed their offending to alcohol than to all other drugs combined; however, of the illicit drugs, heroin users were the most likely to attribute their offending to drug use, while ecstasy users were among the least likely (Payne & Gaffney 2012). Whilst the above study captured the use of ecstasy, the majority of criminological research has traditionally focused on users of heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine - with relatively little attention paid to those who use ecstasy (Hendrickson & Gerstein 2005; Yacoubian et al 2004). In addition, those studies which have specifically examined the nexus between ecstasy use and crime appear to have focused on the use of ecstasy among offenders or police detainees, rather than examining the prevalence of crime among those who use ecstasy. With this in mind, this paper aims to examine criminal activity among regular ecstasy users (REU) in Australia. More specifically, this paper will: 1. Examine the prevalence of criminal activity among regular ecstasy users in Australia, from 2003- 2011. 2. Examine the extent to which drugs and/or alcohol were involved in criminal activity among REU in 2011. 3. Determine what factors were predictive of criminal activity among this population in 2011. Details: Sydney, National Drug & Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, 2012. 6p. Source: Internet Resource: Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System, Drugs Trends Bulletin July 2012: Accessed August 13, 2012 at: http://ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/sites/ndarc.cms.med.unsw.edu.au/files/ndarc/resources/EDRS%20Bulletin%20July12.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Australia URL: http://ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/sites/ndarc.cms.med.unsw.edu.au/files/ndarc/resources/EDRS%20Bulletin%20July12.pdf Shelf Number: 125999 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug Abuse and Crime (Australia)Ecstasy |
Author: Sweeney, Josh Title: 'Initiation Into Drug Use' Addendum: Findings from the DUMA Program Summary: The age at which an individual first experiments with illicit drugs has been of significant interest to policymakers and practitioners, primarily because research has persistently shown a link between early juvenile onset of drug use and less favourable health and criminal justice outcomes in adulthood. In the Australian context, studies have shown: drug users who have regular contact with the criminal justice system typically commenced their drug use at earlier ages (Gaffney et al. 2010; Johnson 2001); even within the drug-using offender population, those with a recent history of violent or prolific property offending typically commenced drug use and progressed to regular drug use earlier than those with no such history (Makkai & Payne 2003); and the risk that an offender will progress to serious and frequent offending was highest when both drug use and offending first began at younger than average ages (Payne 2006). Although there is broad agreement that early initiation into drug use and subsequent involvement in the criminal justice system are correlated, there still remains considerable debate regarding the direction of causality. Some suggest that early drug use can act as a gateway or ‘stepping stone’ to more significant drug use and other problem behaviours (Kandel, Yamaguchi & Chen 1992), while others argue that drug use does not cause criminal behaviour, but rather, there is a shared or common aetiology, such as low self control or high impulsivity (Gottfredson & Hirschi 1990). Although much effort has been made in the Australian context to profile ages of initiation across various criminal justice populations (detainees, prisoners, juvenile offenders etc), an examination of the reasons why drug users first experiment with drugs has been largely overlooked. Knowing why an individual first uses drugs can provide a powerful insight into potential causal networks, as well as identify new options and approaches for intervention. Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2012. 6p. Source: Internet Resource: Research In Practice, DUMA No. 28: Accessed September 10, 2012 at: http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/rip/21-40/rip28.aspx Year: 2012 Country: Australia URL: http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/rip/21-40/rip28.aspx Shelf Number: 126282 Keywords: Drug Abuse and Crime (Australia)Drug Abuse PreventionDrug Offenders |
Author: Gately, Natalie Title: Amphetamine Use Among Detainees at the East Perth Watch House: What is the Impact on Crime? Summary: Amphetamines have been increasingly available on the Australian drug markets since the early 1990s with a recent increase in clandestine laboratory detections as well as seizures by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Customs. Amphetamine use has been associated with psychological, physical and social harm, criminal behaviour and violence; however, much of the current research is descriptive. The present study was designed to utilise existing datasets from two major sources: the Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) project and statistics on reported crime in Western Australia (WA). This enabled drug and crime data taken from several sources to be consolidated for the purpose of investigating the relationships between key variables of interest and trends in these variables over time. While no statistical relationship was identified, there was a trend towards reduced amphetamine use indicators together with a trend in increasing weights of amphetamines seized in the final two years of available data. This study highlights two particularly important factors related to age. Firstly, it is apparent that amphetamine users commence using various illicit and licit (for non-medical purposes) drugs at earlier ages on average than amphetamine non-users. Secondly, amphetamine users commence criminal careers at an earlier age than non-users on average. These findings emphasise both the importance of tackling alcohol and drug issues early and of youth diversion strategies for amphetamine drug offences. Given the generally lower socioeconomic status observed in the amphetamine using group in this study (compared to amphetamine non-users), assistance in acquiring stable housing and provision of education and training opportunities to improve employment prospects may reduce their likelihood of either using drugs and/or committing offences. This study revealed the relationships between important indicators such as drug use, crime and interventions that can be used to provide support for the provision or cessation of specific intervention activities. Details: Griffth, ACT Australia: Criminology Research Council, 2011. 59p. Source: Report to the Criminology Research Council: Internet Resource: Accessed October 15, 2012 at http://www.criminologyresearchcouncil.gov.au/reports/0910-50.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Australia URL: http://www.criminologyresearchcouncil.gov.au/reports/0910-50.pdf Shelf Number: 126741 Keywords: Amphetamines (Australia)Crime Prevention StrategiesCrime StatisticsCriminal CareersDrug Abuse and Crime (Australia)Intervention Programs |
Author: Sutherland, Rachel Title: Motivations and substance use amongst property and violent offenders: Findings from the 2008 & 2013 Illicit Drug Reporting System Summary: Key findings - The prevalence of property crime remained stable across 2008 & 2013, with 18% of PWID reporting that they had committed a property offence in the month preceding interview. Violent crime remained low and stable at 4% and 3% respectively. - In both 2008 and 2013, the majority of property offenders reported being under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol the last time they committed an offence (73% and 71% respectively). - In 2008, the largest proportion of drug-affected property offenders reported being under the influence of heroin (32%) and benzodiazepines (31%). Similarly, in 2013, they largely reported being under the influence of benzodiazepines (29%). - Property offenders most commonly reported that they had committed their last offence for financial reasons. - Amongst those who had committed a violent offence, almost three-quarters reported that they were under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol (73% respectively). - In 2008, the largest proportion of violent offenders reported being under the influence of alcohol (36%), followed by methamphetamine (29%). Similarly, in 2013, the largest proportion of violent offenders reported being under the influence of alcohol and heroin equally (32% respectively). - The largest proportion of violent offenders reported committing their last violent offence for 'opportunistic' reasons. Details: Sydney: National Drug & Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, 2014. 5p. Source: Internet Resource: Drug Trends Bulletin: Accessed November 12, 2014 at: https://ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/sites/default/files/ndarc/resources/IDRSJuly2014.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Australia URL: https://ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/sites/default/files/ndarc/resources/IDRSJuly2014.pdf Shelf Number: 134056 Keywords: Alcohol Related Crime, DisorderCrime StatisticsDrug Abuse and Crime (Australia)Property CrimeViolent Crime |