The Link Between Substance Abuse and Crime

The impacts of drugs and alcohol on a person’s life—including their family, co-workers, friends, and community members—can be devastating. The burden of addiction extends across society, from schools to prisons. In fact, one of the most serious impacts is the connection between addiction and criminal activity.

Statistics Worth Knowing 

It may surprise some to know that the majority of people in prison are there in part due to substance abuse. Eight in ten offenders abuse alcohol or drugs, and roughly half of all inmates suffer clinical addiction. Over half of people arrested for crimes are under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the arrest.

Alcohol 

• 40 percent of violent crimes are committed by individuals with dependence on alcohol;
• Of convicts currently jailed in this country, 2 million say they were drinking when they were arrested;
• Half of all assaults and homicides occur when the assailant, victim, or both, have been drinking;
• Over 65 percent of attacks among known individuals—roughly half a million– occurs while the attacker is using alcohol.

Drugs 

While it’s true that there are drug-users who do not commit crime, and criminals who do not abuse drugs, when it comes to the most extreme levels of drug use, the correlation between drugs and crime is very real. Without question, significant drug use amplifies and perpetuates any preexisting criminal activity in which a person may be involved. There are four basic types of impacts drugs may have on crime:

• Crimes related to drug-use, in which an individual’s thoughts and actions are impacted by the drug;
• Crimes related to economics, in which crimes are committed in order to pay for a drug habit;
• Crimes related to systems, in which individuals manufacture, transport, or sell drugs;
• Crimes related to competition, in which turf wars or other violence escalates among those involved in the drug production world.

More to Know… 

Drugs and crime are not limited to a seedy segment of the adult world:

• 80 percent of juveniles in state detention systems tested positive for drugs or alcohol at the time of their arrest or are committing a drug or alcohol offense.
• Over half a million college students under the age of 25 are assaulted by a fellow student who’s been drinking each year;
• 95 percent of all violent crimes that occur on college campuses involve alcohol;
• Nine out of ten date rape and sexual assault crimes that occur on college campuses involve alcohol.

Has Substance Abuse Impacted Your Criminality? 

If you’ve been charged with a crime and drugs or alcohol were a factor, there may be help available to you. The dedicated Las Vegas criminal defense attorneys at Lobo Law will fight to get you treatment in order to turn your life around. To discuss the possibilities, schedule a confidential consultation in our Las Vegas office today.

Sources:

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2681083/

ncaddnational.org/addiction_articles/alcohol-drugs-and-crime/