Drug related crime Flashcards
What is the Bennett 3 fold definition?
- drug offences - crimes defined nd rug legisaltion eg possession adn supply
- drug related crime - crimes commtted as a direct consequence of drug use
- Drug trafficking - offences indirectly caused by drug use
What are the costs of drug related crime?
Unclear, figures are questimates on amount of people in treatment programmes and being pulled over
How many adults have taken an illegal drug in their lifetime?
1 in 3
8.9% have taken illegal substance in last year (2.3 cannabis
According to the drug misuses act what is penality for drug possession?
Class A - 7 years
Class B - 5 years
Class C - 2 years
What percentage of crime is drug related?
20-70%
What is voodoo criminology?
tendency to ignore methodalogical limitations linked to the use of surveys and drug testing research to exaggerate the scale and causality of the links
What are measurement issues?
How can we know what types of crime - and how much of it is linked to drugs?
Motivation? how do we know they wouldnt have done it anyway?
is being a drug user enough to define crime as drug related?
Do drugs cause crime?
No, correlation but not cause
What percentage of homeless people used drugs?
aged 16-25 95% had used drugs
What % of young offenders are drug users?
85%
What percentage of sex workers are drug users?
81%
What did Holloway and Bennet find?
Small amount repsonible for large amount of crime. Mostly acquisitve
Labelling theory?
Becker 1963
doesnt explain primary deviance. can be quite self affirming if people think youre funny when high
Subculture theory?
good in understanding role of peer pressure. seen as collective problem solving. can be seeen as solving statis frustration.
collective response to alienation eg poverty, racism
Seduction of crime
type of rational choice- weigh up pros and cons
addiction is a poor outcome from a choice
not interested in causes - people CHOOSE
Who are the victims?
Referred to as victimless
reluctant to refer to drugs as a health problem whereas tobacco and alcohol are!!!!!
What are the opium wars?
GB monopolised their trade to profit from opium - supplied china who then experienced large amounts of addiction
What happened at the Hague convention 1912?
Countries became mre concerned with drug use - cocaine and opium. soldiers became addicts in WW1.
needed to stop drugs becoming freely available
How long has cannabis been illegal?
Since 1928
What happened at the 1961 single convention on narcotic drugs?
over 100 countries signed up. all activities to do with drugs made illegal
stories created to cause moral panics
certain drugs linked to cold war with no scientific logic
Whats the misuse of drugs act 1971?
classification of illicit drugs (A, B, C)
Catergorisation determines penalties
sentencing council guidelines- produced by sentencing council
Drug strategies
What are the 5 drug offences in the uk?
Production offences import and export offences supply offences possession permitting premises offences
What do United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime do?
Lots of research
What do International narcotics control board do?
Responsible for ensuring countries follow 1961 convention