In: Psychology
Describe the relationship between drugs and crime. What challenges does this relationship pose for researchers and practitioners?
There is an intrinsic relationship between drug and crime. They are two sides of a coin. The person addicted to drug is supposed to commit crime in order to have the drug. Some cases also been seen where persons while committing crime are drug consumed. Drug trafficking is another outcome of drug abuse. Among all drug consumption of alcohol is the highest as fer as crimes are concerned.
There was a direct relationship between the level of drug abuse and the type of drug and committed crimes. With increased drug abuse, delinquency rate and its intensity increased. Addicts are forced to commit crime to acquire drugs. Addicts are not hired. As a result, they don’t have an income to fulfill their needs. That’s why they turn to illegal activities such as smuggling, drug dealing, theft and prostitution. Thus the cycle of poverty, addiction, and crime is repeated. The necessity of developing preventive strategies is felt more than before.
This is too much challenging for practitioners to provide medical or psychological treatment. The person is addicted to drug is too much into that it takes a long way to procure.