Addiction and Criminal Behavior: A Continuing Examination of Criminal Addicts

Abstract

The study proposed to examine the relationship between opiate addiction and criminal behavior. The study group was composed of general arrestee population subjects who were identified as regular opiate users. The subjects were interviewed to determine demographic, drug use, and self-report criminal history data; arrest data were collected from official records. The study addressed three research questions: (1) the general effect of addiction upon criminal activity; (2) the effect of addiction upon specific offense categories; and (3) the variations of the effects of addiction upon criminal activity relative to the age of onset of addiction, race, and gender. Study results showed dramatic increases in criminal activity associated with the onset of addiction. The criminal activity increase was displayed in violent crime categories, as well as property acquisitive and drug offense categories. Some differences were apparent according to age of onset of addiction, race, and gender, but the study design did not warrant the drawing of definitive conclusions regarding the differences.