Link between Drugs and Crime
The link between drug and crime is an ongoing topic of debate in UK society and though there would appear to be a widespread correlation, the precise type of linkage is the subject of debate. There are many studies, articles and reviews on the topic but it would appear the drugs-crime relationship varies with the type and grade of drug and the extent of drug abuse. This makes the subject extremely wide in its range, therefore for the purpose of this assignment the link between drug users and their propensity to commit property crime will be examined. The principle reason for this singular examination correlation is to look at differing views on one specific area. According to Harrison& Backenheimer, 1998 and Dobinson & Ward, 1996 there are arguments that some drug use might escalate violent crime, whilst other types of drugs abuse might to lessen the urge to commit crime.
The way those who use drugs and commit crimes to property are multifarious, with some very direct causation between specific drugs abuse to commit crime. Best et al., 2001 delve deeper into correlation between drugs and crime. They argue that some drugs release inhibitions to fear and morality causing the abuser to commit crime. Sometimes acts of committing criminal offences may in themselves lead
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This link comes into a broad bracket whereby socially dysfunctional lifestyles brought upon by squalid living conditions and economic marginalization create a direct link to criminal lifestyles (Singleton et al.,1999). There appears no rational explanation to specific groups of people involved in a criminal lifestyle either driven by drug use or to finance the lifestyle that high designer drugs such as heroine and crack cocaine can lead to. In order to understand the various shades of linkage between drugs and crime different scenarios can be
Robert Merton (1938) argued that members of American society are socialised to want the culturally defined goals such as the ‘American dream’ where success is attributed to material wealth. When they are denied access to the legitimate means, they resort to illegitimate means such as criminality and deviance to attain what they have been taught to want. (Lanier&Henry,1998) It could be argued that America is organised for crime due to its overwhelming significance placed on material success. This may explain why America has the highest rate of imprisonment, in 2000 approximately two million men and women were serving prison sentences. (Fleisher&Decker,2006) Similarly, Toy and Stanko (2008) identify that being part of a society that attributes achievement with material wealth are other factors which may influence becoming gang affiliated. (Harris et al, 2011)
It is eight a.m. and she has been up for hours at this point. The diarrhea is uncontrollable and her stomach is killing her. She needs to vomit again. Her bed is covered in sweat. Her body feels hot, but she is freezing cold. Her hands are shaking. Her legs are restless and her entire body aches as if she had been run over by a semi. She feels weak, both physically and mentally. Tears stream down her face because she hates herself. Addiction is the reason her mother has custody of her daughter, Abby. Most of her family and friends disown her. This drug has taken over her life. At this point, she is debating if everyone, including herself, would benefit from her suicide. Jenny was dope sick, suffering
In addition to biological and psychological elements, there are the social factors that can influence people to engage in criminal activity. As a matter of fact, social and economic pressures play a major role in the cause of crime, since people are more likely to break the law when they have nothing else to lose. Therefore, the biological, psychological, and social factors should all be considered when trying to establish a reason for every crime. Word Count = 1,378
Nicholas, S., Walker, A. & Kershaw, C. (2007). Crime in England and Wales 2006/2007. Home Office Statistical Bulletin, Development And Statistics Directorate..
PO demonstrated an understanding of today’s topic as evidenced by identifying and sharing how her distorted and error thinking has created problems in the past and current life. PO took part in the group discussion and shared openly and appropriately with peers, and appears to be in the action stage of
Criminology as a genre is defined as the scientific study of crime, as well as its causes, law enforcement interaction, criminal behavior, and means of prevention. In its own way criminology is the history of humanity. As long as people have been on earth there has been criminal activity. Much like most other work atmospheres, it was a male dominated field. A woman seeking to work in criminology was unheard of. Men filled the jobs as police officers, lawyers, judges, and politicians. However, in the 1860s Belva Lockwood became determined to pave the way for women in criminology. As a women’s rights activist, she became one of the most influential women in criminology.
Drug arrests occur too often and are taking up a majority of general arrests in America. “Drug arrests were the single largest category of arrests, accounting for more than 10% of all arrests in the country” (A drug, 2015). One out of ten of every arrest in the United States of America is a drug arrest. This over focus on drug arrests needs to stop as it is taking focus off of more damaging violent crimes. Overall drug arrests are up 8.3% from a decade ago” (A drug, 2015). Drug crimes are increasing because of the American government increased focus on drug crimes, despite the fact that it is not helping the problem. Even though drug arrests are going up, drug use in the United States of America is “... plentiful and widely used as ever” (Grenier,
The first criminological theory, that explains behavior of the drug sellers, is the theory of Differential Association. Differential Association, termed by Edwin Sutherland, argued that persons engage in delinquent behavior because they learn it from society and they engage in it when it benefits them. By this, he is saying that an individual will be a criminal if they experience an excess of criminal definitions over conventional definitions. Sutherland discovered that Differential Association is developed through various stages and he explains such development with the use of nine propositions. (Lily et al. 2011, 48) Such propositions are as follows: (1) criminal behavior is learned, (2) it...
In the 1950’s, Cohen (1955) acquired Merton’s theory of crime further by concentrating on gang delinquency within the working class demographic. Cohen used the dominant knowledge of the anomie theory but narrowed its emphasis on this precise subculture and particularized it in order to clarify the features of gang delinquency. Comparable to Merton and Cohen, Cloward and Ohlin (1960) tried to clarify why certain individuals or groups are more likely to involve in criminal activities. They contended that people are strained when they fail to attain financial achievement through legitimate means. Cloward and Ohlin remained in...
Sociological theories focus on the social aspect and how the social structure plays a role instead of the individual. This theory looks at “differences in drug-taking behavior between and among societies, social categories, and individuals in the population, as well as among drug types” (Goode, 2011). Goode writes that early research of this theory found drug use to be a form of social deviance, with majority of drug users living in disorganized communities (2011).
One of the most prevalent misconceptions, Benson and Rasmussen, contend is the notion that a large percentage of drug users commit nondrug crimes, what might be called the “drugs-cause-crime” assumption implicit in the government’s drug-war strategy. If true, then an effective crackdown on drug use would reduce nondrug crime rates.... ... middle of paper ... ...
The world will always be full of crime, thus it is necessary for scientist to grow along with the gruesome and increasing amount of violations. Due to this it sparked scientist to develop crime theories in which emerged to explain why crime is caused by individuals. Some of the few theories that have advanced over the past century and provided many answers to why crimes are committed are biological theories, psychological theories and learning theories. These theories provide an insight to its first use and change in order to provide answers.
“Drugs and Alcohol abuse”, are phrases we hear commonly on the radio, television or in discussions of social problems. People believe it is the user’s personal choice however; it is not only a personal problem that dramatically affects individuals’ life but is a major social problem that affects society as whole. It has become one of the biggest problems in United States today. Alcohol or Drug abuse nearly automatically is linked with criminal acts. The statistical association between alcohol or drug abuse with crime seems to be convincing when examined at the first glance; however, it is not possible to make a conclusion concerning a distinct cause and effect association between the two aspects. Accordingly, this paper will examine the relation between Alcohol or drug abuse and Crime.
It is important to be informed of what we are defending, and in this case it is to not legalize drugs. One may ask, what are drugs? Drugs are chemicals, that may affect your body in many different ways, whether it be good or bad. However, most of the time, it 's not always a positive outcome. Some drugs even leave lifetime damage to your brain and body. Although, there are many different ways to take drugs, some of the most common ways are; inhalation, ingestion, and injection. All three ways, however affect the body differently. You don 't always know what you are ingesting or injecting and even inhaling. Most of the time, because drugs are illegal, they are sold through drug dealers
Illegal drug use is one of the most common problems that affect Americans every day. Joyce B. Shannon (2010) found that, “More than 35 million individuals used illicit drugs or abused prescription drugs in 2007” (p. 11). The impact can be seen in communities of all types, and people with low and high income levels. Drug use is at the root of many problems with our society. Joyce B. Shannon (2010) referenced a survey from 2004 that states, “32% of state prisoners and 26% of federal prisoners” admitted that they were currently serving jail time for offences committed while they were, “under the influence of drugs” (p. 102). The reasoning behind this issue will be explained from a psychological, sociological, and an anthropological perspective including the benefit of an interdisciplinary perspective to grasp the cause of drug use and it’s affect on society.