DOCUMENT RESUME ED 300 714 CG 021 209 AUTHOR Innes, Christopher A. TITLE Drug Use and Crime. Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report. INSTITUTION Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. Bureau of Justice Statistics. REPORT NO NCJ-111940 PUB DATE Jul 88 NOTE 13p. PUB TYPE Statistical Data (110) -- Reports - Research /Technical (143) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Correctional Institutions; Crime; *Drug Abuse; Drug Addiction; *Prisoners; *State Programs; *Trend Analysis ABSTRACT In 1974, 1979, and 1986, the Bureau of Justice Statistics sponsored surveys of nationally representative samples of inmates of state correctional facilities. Results from the 1986 Survey of Inmates of State Correctional Facilities which included 13,711 inmates, indicated that inmates reported high levels of drug use prior to the commission of the crime for which they were incarcerated. In the month before their current offense, 43% of state prison inmates were using illegal drugs on a daily or near daily basis; 19% were using a major drug on a daily basis. Many inmates began their use of drugs, particularly major drugs (heroin, methadone, cocaine, phencyclidine, or lysergic acid diethaylamide), after their criminal careers had already started. Almost 80% had used drugs at some time in their lives; 52% had used a major drug. White inmates and female inmates were somewhat more likely then others to have been regular users of major drugs. About 65% of inmates reported that they had never been regular users of a major drug, and an additional 21% began such regular use after their first arrest. The greater the offender's use of major drugs, the more prior convictions the inmate reported. Users of major drugs were substantially more likely than nonusers to report that they received income from illegal actiViuies during the time they were last free. Twenty-eight percent of inmates reported a past drug dependency. Thirty percent reported that they had participated in a drug treatment program at some time. About one-half of the inmates who had participated in a program had received their most recent treatment while they were incarcerated. Seventeen tables illustrate the report's statistics. (ABL) *********************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. * ******************************************* ***** ***********************
Transcript
DOCUMENT RESUME
ED 300 714 CG 021 209
AUTHOR Innes, Christopher A.TITLE Drug Use and Crime. Bureau of Justice Statistics
Special Report.INSTITUTION Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. Bureau of
Justice Statistics.REPORT NO NCJ-111940PUB DATE Jul 88NOTE 13p.
PUB TYPE Statistical Data (110) -- Reports -Research /Technical (143)
EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS *Correctional Institutions; Crime; *Drug Abuse; Drug
ABSTRACTIn 1974, 1979, and 1986, the Bureau of Justice
Statistics sponsored surveys of nationally representative samples ofinmates of state correctional facilities. Results from the 1986Survey of Inmates of State Correctional Facilities which included13,711 inmates, indicated that inmates reported high levels of druguse prior to the commission of the crime for which they wereincarcerated. In the month before their current offense, 43% of stateprison inmates were using illegal drugs on a daily or near dailybasis; 19% were using a major drug on a daily basis. Many inmatesbegan their use of drugs, particularly major drugs (heroin,methadone, cocaine, phencyclidine, or lysergic acid diethaylamide),after their criminal careers had already started. Almost 80% had useddrugs at some time in their lives; 52% had used a major drug. Whiteinmates and female inmates were somewhat more likely then others tohave been regular users of major drugs. About 65% of inmates reportedthat they had never been regular users of a major drug, and anadditional 21% began such regular use after their first arrest. Thegreater the offender's use of major drugs, the more prior convictionsthe inmate reported. Users of major drugs were substantially morelikely than nonusers to report that they received income from illegalactiViuies during the time they were last free. Twenty-eight percentof inmates reported a past drug dependency. Thirty percent reportedthat they had participated in a drug treatment program at some time.About one-half of the inmates who had participated in a program hadreceived their most recent treatment while they were incarcerated.Seventeen tables illustrate the report's statistics. (ABL)
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Drug Use and Crimeby Christopher A. Innes, Ph.D.
BJS Statistician
Results from the 1986 Survey of In-mates of State Correctional Facilitiesindicate that inmates report high levelsof drug use prior to the commission ofthe crime for which they were incar-cerated. In the month before theircurrent offense, 43% of State prisoninmates were using illegal drugs on adaily or near daily basis; 19% wereusing a major drugheroin, methadone,cocaine, PCP, or LSD--on a daily ornear daily basis.
Many inmates, however, began to usedrugs, particularly major drugs, onlyafter their criminal careers had alreadystarted. Half of inmates who had everused a major drug and three-fifths ofthose who had ever used a major drugregularly did not o so until after theirfirst arrest.
Other findings i:sclude the following:
In 1986, 35% of State prison inmatesreported that they were under the in-fluence of drugs at the time they com-mitted their current offense, comparedwith 32% in the 1979 survey.
Inmates were more likely to reportthey were under the influence of co-caine but less likely to report usingheroin at the time of the offense thanin earlier surveys. Marijuana or hashishwas the drug most frequently used atthe time of the offense.
Almost 80% of inmates had useddrugs at some time in their lives; 52%had used a major drug.
This Special Report examines thelinks between illegal drug use andcriminal activity among Stateprison inmates in the period beforethey were incarcerated. Paststudies have shown that a highdegree of drug use is commonamong offenders. This reportexpands our understanding of therelationship between drugs andcrime by examining in greaterdetail the histories of drug use andaddiction among State prisoners,
July 1988
their employment patterns, and theirparticipation in drug treatmentprograms.
The report, based upon data fromthe 1986 survey of State prison in-mates, should be of use to criminaljustice policymakers, practitioners,and researchers. We gratefullyacknowledge the cooperation ofState prison officials who made thesurvey possible.
Steven R. SchlesingerDirector
White inmates and female inmateswere somewhat more likely than othersto have been regular users of majordrugs at some time in the past.
Among State prison inmates who hadused drugs, about half began their useby age 15.
A large majority of inmates (81%)were not daily users of a major drug inthe month before the offense for whichthey were sentenced to prison. Aboutone-seventh (13%) of inmates seem tofit the pattern of drug addicts whocommitted crimes for gain.
About 65% of inmates reported thatthey had never been regular users of amajor drug, and an additional 21% be-gan such regular use after their firstarrest.
Of State prisoners 'Mc) were sen-'enced for robbery, burglary, larcenyor a cog offense, half were daily drugusers, and about 40% were under theinfluence of an illegal drug at the timethey committed the crime. These pro-
2
portions were higher than those report-ed by inmates convicted of other crimes.
The greater an offender's use ofmajor drugs, the more prior convictionsthe inmate reported: Less than 13% ofthose who had never used a major drughad six or more prior convictions,compared to nearly 30% of daily usersof major drugs.
Users of major drugs were substan-tially more likely than nonusers toreport that they received income fromillegal activities during the time theywere last free (48% vs. 10%).
Twenty-eight percent of inmatesreported a past drug dependency. Thedrugs most frequently mentioned wereheroin (14%), cocaine (10%), and mari-juana or hashish (9%).
Thirty percent of inmates reportedthat they had participated in a drugtreatment program at some time-12%more than once. About half of the in-mates who had participated in a pro-gram had received their most recenttreatment while they were incarcerated.
Introduction
In 1974, 1979, and 1986, the Bureauof Justice Statistics (BJS) sponsoredsurveys of nationally representativesamples of inmates of State correc-tional facilities. The Census Bureaucarmd out the data collection in eachsurvey. Inmates interviewed totaled9,040 in 1974, 11,937 in 1979, and13,711 in 1986. In each survey, inmateswere asked about their background,employment, criminal history, and drugand alcohol imp and, in 1986, abouttheir victims.' (For details of samplingand estimation, sew Methodology.)
This report, based primarily on the1986 survey, examines the relationshipbetween drug use and criminal behav-ior. A previous report using the 1986data indicated that the extensive crimi-nal histories many prison inmates re-port are often matchgd by equally longhistories of drug use. Drug use anumginmates ranged in seriousness from oc-casional past use to daily use in themonth prior to committing their cur-rent offense. A second dimension ofthe seriousness of an offender's druguse involved the type of drug used. Inthis report, heroin, methadone, cocaine,LSD, and FCP are classified as majordrugs based on their addictive nature,high cost, and the legal penalties fortheir use and sale. The distinctionbetween "major" and "other" drugs ismole for analytical purposes and is notaliment to imply that use of "other"drugs is not also a serious problem.
The past involvement by prisoninmates in the use of drugs or alcoholhas also been found in previous surveysof inmktes and in tests of persons ar-rested. ° The level of drug use par-ticularly appears to far exceed that,reported by the general population.'This implies that the illegal use ofdrugs is frequently associated withother types of criminal activity, such asrobbery and burglary.
hror analysis of previous inmate surveys, seeProfile of State Prison inmates, LEAA NationalPrisoner Statistics Special Report, NCJ-58257,August 1979; Prisons and Prisoners BJS Bulletin,NCJ-101117, January 11112; Examining Recidivism,BJS Special Report, NCJ-985111, February 1985.
=Set Wilt of State Prison inmates. 1958, BJSSpecial Report, N0J-109928, January 1918.
SSG* Prisoners and AloolwL BJS Bulletin, NC:1-'1225: January 211131M111MUISMEMb BJsBulletin, NCJ-17575, March 1913; National Instituteof Jurtlee, ifilliemb no. 201 (MaroWApril 1160),PP. 84.Ogee Resort to the Nation on Crime and Justices
oPtimBureau of Justice Statistics, NCJ-rsh 1155, p. 50; National SWINGY of Drug
lawns Main Findints. 1912 (Washington, D.C.:National institute on Drug Abuse, 1913).
Concern over the use of drugs and abelief that such use leads to criminalactivity has long been an issue inAmerican society. Even before Federallegislation was enacted in 1914 to con-trol narcotics and other drugs, observ-ers had noted the apparent associaponof drug use with criminal activity.°Drug abuse was believed to encouragecriminal behavior in several ways. Itreduces inhibitions or stimulates ag-gression and interferes with the abilityto earn legitimate income. Further,laws to control drugs and the subse-quent emergence of illegal traffickingmay directly increase crime becausepersons who develop a dependence onan illegal drug need a substantialincome to pay the higher black marketprices for them. In addition, crimessuch as extortion, aggravated assault,and homicide are frequent byproductsof illegal drug trafficking.
An alternative view of the relation-ship between drugs and crime holds thatdrug use does not directly cause criminalbehavior, but the same circumstancesthat might lead a person to begin com-mitting crimes may also contribute tothe development of drug habits. Forexample, social conditions, includingpoverty and discrimination, may limitopportunity and reduce an individual'sinvestment in society, leading to bothdrug abuse and criminal behavior. Also,some people enjoy taking risks and arewilling, for whatever reason, to violatelaws or norms, or they seek possessionsor experiences that are not available bylegitimate means. The use of drugs,especially on a regular basis, may notoccur among such persons until afterthey have begun a career of criminalactivity. Drug use may thus be only
5H. Wayne Morgan, Drugs in America: A SocialHistory. 1800-1980 (Syracuse, N.Y.: SyracuseUniversity Press, 1981).
part of a more general lifestyle thatalso includes other types of criminalactivity.
The BJS inmate surveys provide asubstantial body of data for assessingthe nature of the relationship betweencrime and drug use. The followinganalysis examines in detail the reportsgiven by prison inmates of their druguse histories and the onset of drug userelative to the beginning of criminalcareers. This analysis indicates thatfor some prison inmates drug use beganprior to other criminal activity and mayhave contributed, either by loweringinhibitions or by generating a need formoney, to a developing criminal ca-reer. For many others, drug use, par-ticularly regular use of a major drug,started only after their criminal ca-reers had begun.
Patterns of drug usebefore current incarceration
Inmates in State prisons reported arelatively high level of drug use prior totheir current incarceration. In 1986more than a third of the inmates re-ported that they were under the influ-ence of a drug when they committedtheir current offense (table 1). This issimilar to the level reported in the 1979inmate survey, but it is noticeably high-er than that found in 1974. Marijuanaor hashish was the most frequentlymentioned illegal drug in recent sur-veys, but significant shifts havt oc-curred among the major drugs.Inmates in 1986 more often reportedthat they were under the influence ofcocaine, while in 1979 heroin was themajor drug most often mentioned.
5Huhish is a derivative of marijuana, containingthe same active ingredient, THC.
Table 1. State prison inmates under the influence of drugs, by typeof drug at the time of the surreal offense, 1974, 1979, sad 19118
Type of drug
Percent of all inmates who wereunder the influence of drugat the time of the offense
1974 1979 1988
Any drug
Major drvgCocaineHeroinPCPLSDMethadone
Other drugMarijuana or hashishAmphetaminesBarbituratesMithaqualoneOther drugs
Notes Individual drugs may not add to more than one drug.total under "any drug" because an inmate -indicates that the drug was not askedmay have been under the influenu of about in that year.
3 2
Inmates also reported varying levelsof drug involvement, ranging from nev-er using any drug to daily use of atleast one of the illegal drugs in themonth before the current offense. Al-though a fifth of State prison inmatesreported no use of any illegal drug,four-fifths did report such use, andalmost two-thirds said they had used
an illegal drug regularly in the put(table 2). (Regular use is defined in thesurvey as use of a drug at least once aweek for a month.) Over half (52.3%)had used at least one drug in the monthbefore the current offense, and 42.6%were using it on a daily or neardaily basis. These patterns differedslightly by race, with whites more
Table 2. Deur use history of State prison inmates, by rue and se:, 1984
Percent of all inmates who:
Used drin the month
Never Anytime Regularly before the offenseused drugs in the put in the past At all Daily
°includes major drugs (see note b) and bincludes cocaine, heroin, PCP, LSD, andmarijuana or hashish, amphetamines, UM-turates, methaqualone, and all other drugs.
methadone.
Table 3. Drug we by State prison inmates, by conviction offense, 11411
Conviction offense
Percent of inmates convicted of each offense who:
Were under theinfluence of a drugat the timeof the offense
Had useda drug dillyin the monthbefore the offense
*Mast serious offense for which the inmate was Sentenced to prison.
3 4
likely to report daily use than blacks ormembers of other races. Males werealso more likely to report regular useand daily use than were females whenall drugs are considered.
Examining the pattern of major druguse provides a different picture. Thesedrugs--heroin, methadone, cocaine,LSD, and PCP--are the ones most oftenmentioned as contributing t.. othercriminal activity. More than half ofthe inmates had used a major drugsometime in the put, and 36% had usedone on a regular basis. Among allinmates, 25% reported using a majordrug In the month before the cur-rent offense, and 19% said they wereusing one or more of the major drugs ona daily basis in that month. White in-mates were still more likely than blacksand those of other races to report useof a major drug. Female inmates, how-ever, were more likely than males toreport use when the questions werelimited only to the major drugs. Nearly30% of female inmates reported use ofa major drug in the month before theiroffense, and almost a quarter said theywere using one or more major drugs ona daily basis.
Drug use and current offense
The most serious drug users, inmateswho were under the influence of drugsat the time of the offense or reporteddaily use of drugs, were most likely tohave committed a crime for gain (table3). More than 4 in 10 inmates servingsentences for robbery or burglary wereunder the influence of an illegal drug,and over half of each group reporteddaily use of illegal drugs in the monthbefore the current offense. Only drugoffenses such as possession or traf-ficking had a similar percentage com-mitted by a person who was under theinfluence or a Jelly user of drugs.Nonetheless, significant proportions ofthose convicted of violent crimes notassociated with monetary gain werealso under the influence of drugs at thetime of the offense-for example,28.6% of those convicted of assault and32% of those convicted of rape.
Table 4. Likelihood of major drug usefor State prison !mates, by offense, 188$
Percent of Inmates whohad used a major drug
Conviction daily In the month beforeoffense the current offense
Note: Major drugs Include cocaine,heroin, PCP, LSD, and methadone.*Most serious offence for which the Inmatewas sentenced to prison.
The association of drug use withspecific crimes is more evident if onlydaily use of a major drug is examined.Again, as in the measures above basedon any drug use, persons incarceratedfor crimes for gain were more likelythan others to report using a major drugon a daily basis (table 4). Other thanthose convicted of drug offenses, in-mates whose current offense was lar-ceny, burglary, robbery, or kidnapingmost frequently reported daily use.Fully a fourth of all the inmates whohad used a major drug daily in themonth before the offense had been con-victed of robbery, and another fifth ofburglary (table 5).
Drug use history and put criminalactivity
The self-reports of inmates regardingthe onset of drug use and regular useindicate that such use usually began inthe middle-to-late teens. The medianage of inmates at the time of the sur-vey was 28 years. For the nearly 80%of inmates who reported having usedan illegal drug at some time in the past,the median age of first use was 15years (table 8). Further, for the 62.4%who reported using a drug on a regularbasis in the past, the median age ofregular use was also 15. More than halfreported having used a major drug, andmore than a third did so regularly. Forthese inmates, the median age of first
Table S. Major drug use history of State prison Inmates, by current offense, 199$
Percent of all Inmates who:
Used a major drugNever Anytime Regularly In the monthused a In in before the offenseConviction offense major drug the past the past At all Daily
Note: Major drugs Include cocaine, heroin, Most serious offense for which the inmatePCP, LSD, and methadone. Percents maynot add to totals because of rounding.
was sentenced to prison.
Table 6. Seriousness of drug use and age of onsetfor State prison Inmates, by type of drug, 1986
Percent of all Inmates who:
Type of drugHad everused drugs
Had used drugsregularly
Median age of first:Use Regular use
Any drug 19.6% 62.4% 15 yrs 15 yrsMajor drug 52.4% 35.1% 17 yrs 18 yrs
use was 17 years, and the median age offirst regular use of a major drug was18.
A comparison of the median age atwhich drug use commenced and the me-dian age of the first criminal justicecontact indicees that, on average, useof any drug preceded first arrest, pro-bation, or incarceration. While druguse and regular drug use began at aboutage 15, arrests, probations, and incar-cerations first took place between the
ages of 16 and 19 (table 7). First use ofa major drug tended to occur severalyears after use of any drug-17-18years old. There was little differencebetween racial groups on most of thesemeasures. The exception was use ofmajor drugs, which occurred about 2years earlier for whites than blacks.First criminal justice contacts tendedto occur 3-4 years later among femalesthan males.
In the month before the offense forwhich they were first incarcerated, in-mates had often begun using illegaldrugs. More than 50% of all inmatesreported they had used drugs justbefore their first incarceration, and36.9% reported regular use (table 8).However, use of a major drug just be-fore their first incarceration was muchless prevalent: 22.7% had used a majordrug Just prior to their first incar-ceration, and 13.8% had used a majordrug regularly in that time. Femaleswere more likely and whites slightlymore likely to report major use justprior to first incarceration.
Temporal sequenee of drug useand first arrest
For most inmates in State prison,their first criminal justice contact wasan arrest. Based on the year of theirfirst arrest and their reports of the ageat which they first used drugs, a se-quence of these events can be recon-structed. Nearly half of the inmatesappear to have had their first experi-ences with drugs before their firstarrest: 38.7% reported that they firstused an illegal drug more than a yearbefore, and another 8.1% the year be-fore their first arrest (talle 9).Regular use was lower, but a third ofinmates still reported regular use of anillegal drug a year or more before theirfirst arrest.
Major drug use before first arrest,however, was less common. Only about11% of inmates reported regular use ofa major drug a year or more beforetheir first arrest, compared to 65.1%who reported never regularly using ma-jor drugs and 20.7% whose regular useof a major drug began a year or moreafter their first arrest. This finding, ofdrug use beginning before but major usedeveloping after the beginning of acriminal career, is consisteyt withother research in this area.'
7See B. Green, "Examination of the RelationshipBetween Crime and Substance Use in a Drug/AlcoholTreatment Population," International Journal ofAddiction, vol. 16 (19111), pp. 627-645; J. Incardi,The War on Drugs: Heroin, Cocaine. Crime, endPublic Policy (Palo Alto, Ca: r.: MayfieldPublishing Company, 1986).
Table 7. Medan age at first criminal justice contact andat first drug we for State prison inmate., riss
Median ageAllinmates
Race SexWhite Black Other Male Female
Cris: Mal justice contacts
First arrestFirst probationFirst incarceration
First drug use
Any drugFirst useFirst regular use
Major drugFirst useFirst regular use
17 years1619
15 years15
17 years18
17 years1619
14 years15
16 years17
17 years16
19
15 years16
18 years19
17 years1619
14 years15
16 years18
17 years1619
15 years15
17 years18
20 years2023
16 years18
18 years19
*Major drugs include cocaine, heroin, PCP, LSD, and methadone.
Table 11. Drug use prior to first incarceration,by race and sex, for State prison Inmates, 165$
Percent of all inmates who reported using drugs In the monthprior to the offense that resulted in their first incarceration
All Race Sex
Type of drug use inmates White Black Other Male Female
Any drugAny use 50.7% 52.4% 49.3% 47.0% 50.8% 47.8%Regular use 36.9 39.5 34.5 32.6 36.9 36.8
Major drugAny use 22.7% 24.9% 20.6% 18.4% 22.3% 29.9%
Regular use 13.8 14.6 13.3 10.0 13.5 21.6
Major drugs include cocaine, heroin, PCP, LSD, and methadone.
Table 6. Onset of drug use in relation to first arrest for State prison inmates, 1686
Percent of Inmates who began using drugs:
Before Afterfirst arrest In same first arrest
Nosuch usereported'
More year u Morethan 1 One first One than 1
Type of drug use All year year arrest year year
AnFirst use 100% 38.1% 8.1% 10.6% 5.1% 16.7%
First regular use 100 26.1 6.4 8.3 4.8 16.6
Major drugbFirst use 100% 14.8% 4.5% 6.0% 4.5% 22.2%First regular use 100 8.0 2.7 3.5 3.0 17.7
20.7%37.8
48.0%65.1
Note: Percents may not add to 100 because koverege between the two tables.of rounding. "Major drugs include cocaine, heroin, PCP,'The amounts in this column differ from LSD, and methadone.those in table 2 because of differences in
5 6
The beginning of regular use of drugsrelative to first arrest varied slightlyby race and sex. Whites were some-what more likely than blacks to beginregular use of any drug (29.1% vs.22.9%) and regular use of a major drug(9.9% vs. 6.1%) more than a year priorto thetir first arrest (table 10). Femaleswere also somewhat more likely thanmales to report regular use before theirfirst arrest. Again, a majority of allracial groups and both males and fe-males reported either no regular use orsaid they did not begin regular use untilafter their first arrest.
The sequence of events can be clari-fied by examining only those inmateswho reported a particular type and lev-el of drug use. For example, among theapproximately 355,000 inmates who re-ported ever having used drug, wellover half clearly did so well beforetheir first arrest (table 11). A similarpattern exists among the approximately279,000 inmates who reported havingused any drug regularly.
The pattern changes, however, whenonly users of major drugs are exam-ined. An estimated 233,000 of theinmates in State prison in 190 had useda major drug, but more than half re-ported that they had not done so un-til after their first arrest. Of thosewho had used a major drug regularly,nearly three-fifths reported that suchuse began after their first arrest-50.8% not until more than a year after.
These results imply that the pathwayinto a criminal career or to the regularuse of drugs may take various forms.One group of prisoners reported thatthey had begun using drugs regularlybefore they were first arrested (32.5%,table 9). However, many inmates inthis group had apparently not used anyof the major drugs regularly until afterthat first arrest. A second group ofinmates developed regular drug habits,but only after their criminal careershad already begun (21.4%). Finally, athird group reported no regular use ofillegal drugs. Among the entire popula-tion, 37.8% said they had never usedany drug regularly, and 65.1% reportedthat they had never used a major drugregularly.
Table lg. Owen of regular dregase, by rase sad sex, for State prison %mates, 1885
Type ofregular drug use
Percent of inmates who began using drums retvierlysBefore(Ina arrest In same
Afterfirst arrest
More year asthan 1 One first
All year year arrest
More NoOne than 1 such useyear year reported.
Any drugRace
WhiteBlackOther
SexMaleFemale
Molar drugb
RaceWhiteBlackOther
SaxMaliFewest'
100% 29.1%100 22.9100 26.4
100% 26.0%100 25.4
100% 9.9%100 6.1100 6.8
100% 7.9%100 10.9
6.2% 8.8%6.5 7.86.8 5.8
6.4% 8.3%5.9 8.1
2.9% 4.3%2.5 2.71.5 4.2
2.6% 3.4%3.9 5.0
4.8% 15.1% 35.9%4.8 18.3 39.74.9 14.3 39.0
4.9% 16.8% 37.5%3.1 10.5 43.6
3.6% 17.4% 61.9%2.3 15.0 68.4Le IL? 66.0
2.9% 17.9% 65.3%3.2 15.2 80.5
Notes Percents may not add to 100 becauseof rounding.The amounts in this column differ fromthou in table 2 because el differences In
peerage between the two tables."Major drugs Include cocaine, heroin, PCP,LBD, and toothsome.
Table 11. Caret of drug use is relation to first arrestfor drug -suing State prism humans. Ing
Percent of drur-using inmates who used:Any drier A major drug'When drug use began Ever Regularly Ever Regularly
Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%Before first arrest
More than 1 year 48.8% 42.0% 21.5% 22.9%One year before
in same yearas first arrest
10.3
13.4%
10.3
13.4%
8.6
11.5%
7.6
10.2%After first arrest
One year after 6.5% 7.8% 1.7% 8.5%More than 1 year 21.0 28.8 42.7 50.8Number of cues 355,285 278,864 233,038 156,386
Notes Percent, may not add to 100 because 'Major drugs Include cocaine, heroin, PCP,of rounding. 5D, and methadone.
7
''able 12. Daily use of major dngefor State prison lessatms,by emayletioe offense, 1985
Type of drug use Percent ofand conviction offense all inmates
Daily use of amajor drug in the monthbefore the offense
No 81.4%Vas 18.8%
Conviction ciffensefor dolly until
Crimes for gain 13.0%Robbery 4.8Burglary 3.8Drug trafficking 1.6Larceny 1.6Other property offenses 1.3
Violent offenses' 3.7%Other 1.8%
Motet Percents may not add to totalsbecause of rounding.'Excluding robbery.
Hard-core drug use and crime
It is often assumed that drug addicts,seeking money to support their habits,commit a great many crimes. Althoughthe inmate survey of 1986 did notcontain a specific question regardingdrug addiction, it did collect informa-tion on the type of behavior most likelyto characterize drug addiction: dailyuse of a major drug. About four-fifthsof all inmates were not, according totheir self-reports, daily users of amajor drug in the month before theircurrent offense (table 12). Of the18.8% who were, most (13% of all in-mates) were convicted of a crime forgain such as robbery (4.8%) or burglary(3.8%). Thus, just under a seventh ofState prison inmates in 1986 seem to fitthe pattern of drug addicts who com-mitted crimes for gain. From the dataavailable it is not possible to determineto what extent the proceeds from thesecrimes were used to support a drug habit.
Although daily users of major drugswere a minority of the inmate popula-tion in 1986, they may have been re-sponsible for a disproportionate shareof crimes. Field research with addictshas shown that they do commit crimeswith a greater frequency than do non-addicts.° Moreover, data from theinmate survey show that the degree ofmajor drug use is related to the numberof prior convictions: the greater theuse of major drugs, the more prior con-victions the inmate was likely to report(table 13). For example, more than afourth of inmates who had never used amajor drug had no prior conviction,compared to about a tenth of dailyusers. Moreover, less than 13% of non-users had six or more prior convictions,compared to nearly 30% of daily us-ers. Most of those who had used a ma-jor drug regularly in the put, in themonth before the offense, or daily inthat month had three or more priorconvictions.
5J. Ball et al., "The Day-to-Day Criminality ofHeroin Addicts in Baltimore-A study in theContinuity of Offense Rates," Drug and AlcoholDependences, vol. 12 (1963), pp. 119-142; B. Johnsonet al., Taking Care of Business. The Economics ofCrime by Heroin Abusers (Lexington, MusaLexington Books, 1935).
Table 13. Major drug use history aid excwietions for Mate prison inmates, IINS
Percent of all Inmates who:
Used a maim' drugIn the month
Never used Anytime Regularly before the offenseConvictions major drug in the past in the past At all Daily
Prior convictionsAs a juvenile only 10.7% 13.3% 0.3% 11.0% LS%As en adult o, ', 37.0 33.2 38.7 30.7 35.9Both as juvenile
Note: Major drug Include cocaine, heroin, PCP, LOD, and methadone.
Table 14. Employment by major drug use history for Mate prison inmates, 1988
Percent of all Inmates who:
Used a molar drugEmployment status In the monthIn year before Never used Anytime Regularly before the offenseIncarceration major drug In the past In the past At all Daily
Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Employed 73.4% 67.9% 67.5% 67.0% 60.0%
Full-time 61.6 54.5 56.7 59.0 49.5
Part-time 11.0 13.3 10.0 10.0 10.6
Unemployed 26.6% 32.1% 32.5% 31.0% 40.0%Looking for work 16.5 19.8 18.9 16.9 19.8
Not looking for work 10.1 12.4 13.7 14.1 20.2
Note: Major drugs Include cocaine, cents may not add to totals because ofheroin, PCP, LSD, and methadone. Per- rounding.
Table 15. Income spunk, by major drug um history for Mate prison inmates, MS
Percent of all Inmates who:
Used major drugIn the month
Nev.* used Anytime Regularly before the offenceSource of income ..valor drug In the put in the past At all Daily
Wages or salaries 85.3% 05.2% 83.3% 84.5% 77.3%
Benefits 22.3 21.4 25.9 22.1 22.0
Family or friends 23.3 30.5 25.1 29.6 30.5
Wept income 9.6 23.4 27.9 35.5 47.6
Other Income source 4.0 4.0 4.1 3.6 31
Notes income source refers to any source of 100 because more then one source of IncomeIncome during the year before the current could be mentioned by each Inmate.Incarceration. Percents add to more than
Drug use and employment
The impact of a regular drug habit onthe addict's ability to maintain alegitimate income es well as the highcost of many illegal drugs may inclineaddicts to engage in criminal activityfor funds to support their habits. Ac-cording to the inmate reports, users ofmajor drugs, especially daily users,were least likely to have been employedand most likely to have been both un-employed and not seeking work (table14). Further, use's of major drugs weresubstantially more likely than nonusersto report that they received income
from illegal activities during the timethey were last free (table 15). Whileless than 10% of those who never used amajor drug reported illegal income,47.6% of daily users of a major drugsaid they had received some part oftheir income from illegal sources.
Drug treatment programs
A final issue in the area of drug useand crime is the potential role of treat-ment intended to stop addiction orabuse. Inmates in 1986 were asked if,in their own view, they had ever beendependent on a drug in the past; 27.8%said that they had (table 16). Themedian age given by inmates for theirfirst drug dependency was 18 years.The two moat commonly discussedmajor drugs, cocaine and heroin, werealso the most often identified as theillegal drug of dependency. However,inmates were almost as likely to reporta dependency on marijuana or hashish(8.8%) as on cocaine (10%). Consistentwith other results reported above, de-pendency was more commonly reportedby white inmates than others and wasmore likely among females than males.
About 3 in 10 inmates had partic-ipated in a treatment program (table17). Many of these inmates had been intreatment more than once-11.7% ofthe total inmate population had beentreated two or more times. About halfof those who had ever been in treat-ment had received their most recenttreatment while incarcerated; 6.2% ofinmates were in treatment at the timeof the survey.
Methodology
The survey of State prison inmates isdesigned and sponsored by the Bureauof Justice Statistics, with data col-lection carried out by the Bureau of theCensus. The sample design employed isa stratified two-stage selection withthe probabilities proportional tothe size of the correctional facility.The sample is selected independentlyfrom two frames, one for males onlyand a second to allow an oversample offemales. Within each frame, facilitiesare stratified by type (prison versuscommunity corrections facility) and bycensus region. In the second stage,interviewers visit each selected facilityand select a sample of inmates usingpredetermined sampling procedures. In1979, 11,3:? interviews were conductedat 215 prisons with a selected sample ofabout 12,000. In 1986, 13,711 inter-views were conducted at 275 facilitiesfrom a sample of about 15,000.
Based on these interviews, estimatesof the entire inmate population weredeveloped that used a weighting factorderived from the original probability ofselection in the sample. This factorwm then adjusted for variable ratesof nonrexponse and with two differentratio adjuaments. The first accounts
Table IL Past drug dependency by race and mai for State prison inmates, 1186
Percent of all inmatesAll
Drug use dependency inmatesRace Sex
White Black Other Male Fe male
Ever dependent on drugs In past 27.8%Major drug* 20.4%
Notes Dependency data, like drug use data, arebased on self-reports by inmates. Pereelts mayadd to more than totals because more than
one drug could be mentioned by each inmate.Major drugs include cocaine, heroin, PCP, LSD,and methadone.
for sample effects; the second isintended to bring tl!! sample populationas closely into agreement PS possiblewith the known distribution of theentire inmate population. All compari-sons presented in this report are statis-tically significant at the 95%confidence level.
Drug use history is based directly onthe responses from inmates. In theinterview, inmates were asked a verydetailed set of questions about each of10 drugs. Drug use histories were de-veloped by examining the responses toall of the 10 sets of questions. Thedrugs that were specifically askedabout were heroin or methadone, am-phetamines and barbiturates (alone orin combination), methaqualone(Quaaludes), cocaine, LSD, PCP, andmarijuana or hashish. Previous meth-odological research indicates that theself-reports of drug users are a reliable,source of information on past drug use.'9See J. Ball, "The Reliability and Validity ofinterview Data Obtained from 59 Narcotic DrugAddicts," American Journal of Sociology, vol. 72(1967), pp. 650-654; T. Cox and B. Longwell,"Reliability of Interview Data Concerning CurrentHeroin Use from Heroin Addiction Methadone,"International Journal of Addietign, vol. 9 (1974), pp.161-165; Z. Amsel et al., "Reliability and Validity ofSelf-Reported Illegal Activities and DrugUse Collected from Narcotic Addicts," InternationalJournal of Addiction, vol. 11 (1976), PP. 325-536.
The Assistant Attorney General,Office of Justice Programs, coor-dinates the activities of thefollowing program offices andbureaus: the Bureau of JusticeStatistics, National Institute ofJustice, Bureau of Justice Assist-ance, Office of Juvenile Justiceand Delinquency Prevention, andthe Office for Victims of Crime.
8 1 9
Table 17. Participation in drug treatmentprograms for State prison inmates, 1986
Extent or program Percent ofparticipation all inmates
Ever participated ina treatment program
Number of timesin treatment
OnceTwice3-5 times6 or more times
In a program in the monthbefore current offense
Most recent treatment waswhile incarcerated
Currently in treatment
29.8%
17.7%6.54.3
.9
3.7%
15.7%
6.2%
Bureau of Justice StatisticsSpecial Reports are preparedi:7incipally by BJS staff. Thisreport was written by ChristopherA. Innes. Susan Kline providedstatistical review. Frank D. Wogedited the report. MarianneZawitz provided assistance on datapresentation. Marilyn Marbrook,publications unit chief, adminis-tered report production, assistedby Yvonne Shields, ChristinaRoberts, and Jeanne Harris.
The design and collection of thedata was directed by Phyllis JoBaunach, formerly of BJS. Datacollection was carried out at theBureau of the Census by MarilynMonahan, Susan Schacter-Ryan,Gregory Wells, and Rita Williamsonunder the supervision o' LarryMcGinn, Gertrude Odom, andRobert Tinari.
July 1988, NCJ-111940
Drugs & Crime Data. Data Center &Clearinghouse forDrugs & Crime
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