TY - JOUR
T1 - Revolving roles in drug-related crime
T2 - The cost of chronic drug users as victims and perpetrators
AU - French, Michael T.
AU - McCollister, Kathryn E.
AU - Kébreau Alexandre, Pierre
AU - Chitwood, Dale D.
AU - McCoy, Clyde B.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by grants (P50 DA10236, R01 DA11506, and P50 DA07705) from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. This manuscript was partially completed while Michael French was a visiting professor at the Research Center for Health and Economics, Department of Economics, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Western Economic Association annual meeting in June 2000 and at the annual conference of the American Public Health Association in November 2000. We gratefully acknowledge Kenneth Goodman, Sara Markowitz, Ann Morales, and Michael Prendergast for suggestions on an earlier draft; Brandon Boswell, Michael Kunz, Chris Roebuck, Helena Salomé, and Silvana Zavala for programming and research assistance; and William Russell, Carmen Martinez, and Suzanne Gresle for administrative support.
PY - 2004/9
Y1 - 2004/9
N2 - Numerous studies have established a strong connection between the use of illicit drugs and the commission of other illegal activities, including both predatory and property crimes. No study, however, has examined the cost of crimes associated with drug users both as victims and as perpetrators. In the present study, recent data were analyzed from a targeted sample of chronic drug users (CDUs) and a matched sample of non-drug users (NDUs) in Miami-Dade County, Florida, to estimate the incremental cost of crime associated with CDU. Two separate models were employed to estimate (1) the probability of being a victim or a perpetrator of crime and (2) the cost of crime for both situations. The cost measures were transformed to reduce the influence of extreme outliers, and a smearing technique was used to compare the cost of crime for CDUs relative to NDUs. The findings illustrate that criminal activity among CDUs is circular, extensive, and costly. Implications for law enforcement, criminal justice policy, and substance abuse treatment are discussed.
AB - Numerous studies have established a strong connection between the use of illicit drugs and the commission of other illegal activities, including both predatory and property crimes. No study, however, has examined the cost of crimes associated with drug users both as victims and as perpetrators. In the present study, recent data were analyzed from a targeted sample of chronic drug users (CDUs) and a matched sample of non-drug users (NDUs) in Miami-Dade County, Florida, to estimate the incremental cost of crime associated with CDU. Two separate models were employed to estimate (1) the probability of being a victim or a perpetrator of crime and (2) the cost of crime for both situations. The cost measures were transformed to reduce the influence of extreme outliers, and a smearing technique was used to compare the cost of crime for CDUs relative to NDUs. The findings illustrate that criminal activity among CDUs is circular, extensive, and costly. Implications for law enforcement, criminal justice policy, and substance abuse treatment are discussed.
KW - chronic drug users
KW - cost of crime
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U2 - 10.1023/B:JOQC.0000037732.00489.ad
DO - 10.1023/B:JOQC.0000037732.00489.ad
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:4444244357
VL - 20
SP - 217
EP - 241
JO - Journal of Quantitative Criminology
JF - Journal of Quantitative Criminology
SN - 0748-4518
IS - 3
ER -
