Pierce et al. (2017)

Insights into the link between drug use and criminality: Lifetime offending of criminally-active opiate users

Background

• This study aims to determine if the lifetime offending trajectory of individuals who test positive for opiates exceeds that of control groups who test negative, before and after opiate initiation.

• Gender and offence type variances are considered in relation to offending rates.

Methods

• Historical offending records were linked to drug test results for opiate and cocaine metabolites in adults.

• Rate Ratios (RR) calculated comparing opiate positive testers to opiate and cocaine negative controls, using generalised estimating equations to account for within-subject clustering.

Results

• Opiate-positive individuals exhibited higher offending rates compared to controls both prior to and after opiate initiation.

• Opiate initiation increased RR by 16% for males and doubled it for females.

• Non-serious acquisitive crime (e.g., theft) saw a higher increase relative to serious crimes.

Conclusions

• Opiate initiation intensifies offending across most crime categories, indicating potential effectiveness of prevention initiatives, especially among females.

Introduction

• Heroin and other opiates are linked to heightened criminal activity, particularly acquisitive crimes for financial gain.

• The drug-crime association influences UK drug policies significantly.

• Explanations for the drug-crime link fall into:

  1. Forward causation: Drug use possibly drives crime (financial necessity, psychopharmacological effects).

  2. Reverse causation: Criminal engagement may lead to drug use (accessibility).

  3. Confounding: Shared underlying causes for both drug use and criminal behavior.

• Emphasizes the complexity of the underlying mechanisms.

Methods

Data Collection

• Analysis cohort identified from saliva drug tests recorded between 2005-2009.

• Cohort included individuals aged 18–39 who underwent drug testing upon arrest for drug-related offences.

• Age at drug initiation and offending history obtained through linked national databases.

Statistical Framework

• Generalised estimating equations utilized to assess offending differences by cohort.

• Two models were evaluated: one for opiate user status and another incorporating time-dependent variables of opiate initiation.

• Offence categories analyzed included serious and non-serious acquisitive crimes, and violent crimes.

Results

Cohort Overview

• 18,965 opiate-positive cases vs. 78,838 controls with higher offending rates for opiate users.

• Average ages at drug test and first offence differed significantly between groups.

Historical Offending Rates

• Opiate-positive males demonstrated nearly double the offending rate compared to controls, four times greater for females.

• Offending rates for both genders increased post-opiate initiation.

Comparative Analysis

• Male opiate users exhibited a 2.00 RR prior to use and a 2.32 RR post-initiation.

• Females had a marked increase from 2.80 to 5.61 post-initiation.

• Initiation raises non-serious acquisitive crime rates more than serious crime rates.

Discussion

Findings Overview

• Opiate-positive individuals showed higher rates of historical offending than controls.

• Results support hypotheses: higher rates prior to opiate use, exacerbation of offending post-initiation, gender differences in RR increase post-initiation, and variations by crime types.

Limitations

• Retrospective design restricts inference on causation.

• Potential misclassification within non-case groups influencing results.

Policy Implications

• Findings relevant for drug policy reform, emphasizing the need for drug-use prevention efforts that focus on younger demographics, particularly women.

Conclusions

• This study underscores a complex relationship between drug use trajectories and criminal behavior, suggesting early intervention strategies tailored towards delinquent behaviors can be effective in addressing problematic substance use.