Resumen de Drugs, alcohol and crime: patterns among Canadian federal inmates

S. Brochu, L.G. Cournoyer, L. Motiuk, K. Pennanen

• The present article explores the connection between alcohol and illicit drug use on the one hand, and crime on the other. The data were collected in a survey of 8,598 male inmates in (on average, about two weeks into the sentence) Canadian federal penitentiaries using a Computerized Lifestyle Assessment instrument. This survey instrument poses questions about various aspects of an inmate's life before incarceration. Results show that 79.4 per cent of inmates had used an illicit drug at least once in their lifetime. More recently, 50.3 per cent of inmates had used such drugs at least once during the six months prior to their most recent arrest; this was true for 45.8 per cent of most recent inmates during the four weeks prior to their most recent arrest.

  In the six months prior to their arrest, 76.3 per cent of inmates had used alcohol at least once; this was true for 56.8 per cent of inmates during the preceding four weeks. Nineteen per cent of all inmates had used drugs every day or almost every day during this six-month period and about 34 per cent had used them at least once a week. Results also indicate that substance use is highly prevalent on the day of the most serious crime for which federal inmates were admitted to Canadian penitentiaries. However the Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST) and the Alcohol Dependence Scale (ADS) indicate that the majority of inmates who use drugs and alcohol are not alcohol or drug dependent but that substance use on the day of the crime may facilitate criminal activity. Yet, statistics show that one half of the most serious crimes are committed in the absence of alcohol or other drugs. Despite a strong association, it cannot be concluded that the ingestion of an intoxicant causes crimes. Substance use and criminality are related in a complex way.