drugs and law enforcement

Editor: Justin Healey
ISBN 978 1 920801 97 7
Year 2009

Price: $20.95

  

Drugs and Law Enforcement
Volume 287, Issues in Society

Illicit drug use in Australia is a significant justice, health and social welfare issue. Its consequences include crime, addiction, overdoses, death, the tragic effects of drug abuse on people’s health and wellbeing, and financial and emotional costs to the community. Is the ‘war on drugs’ working? The possession, supply and trafficking of illicit drugs is a multi-billion dollar industry. What is the extent and impact of drug-related crime, and what is the role of police, the courts and the penal system in stemming the rising tide of drug use? Prohibition versus decriminalisation, ‘zero tolerance’ versus harm minimisation ... what are the arguments? This book explores the links between drugs and crime, the drug law reform debate, and drug-related crime prevention initiatives.

Chapter 1  Illicit Drugs and Crime in Australia
National Drug Strategy Household Survey results, Drugs, crime and law enforcement, Study links one in four crimes to speed, ice, Drug-related crime: evidence from the National Drug Strategy Household Survey, Drugs and organised crime, Ilicit drugs and crime: a snapshot, Ilicit drugs damage Australian business, Australian responses to illicit drugs: drug courts, Methadone for prisoners ‘saves money’, Help, not jail, credited for drug victories.

Chapter 2  Drugs and the Law Debate
History of drug laws, The legislation debate, Support for the legalisation of illicit drugs, Support for increased penalties for the sale or supply of illicit drugs, Harm minimisation – where is Australia’s drug policy headed?, Drug law reform: beyond prohibition, Case against harm minimisation in drug fight, Children pay the price of our addiction to prisons, Are we serious about drug traffickers?, Breaking taboos – it’s time we recognised that illegal drugs are fun, Harm minimisation: just say no, Never a hard case, cannabis use finally gets attention, Policing and cannabis use in Australia, A smoking gun in the drugs debate, Support for marijuana/cannabis measures, Supporting cannabis law reform without inhaling, Better solutions than the Kings Cross injecting room, Arguments against injecting rooms, The heroin trial 10 years on: how politics killed hope, The benefits of medically prescribed heroin, Support for heroin measures, Help is the best drug abuse answer.

Glossary; Fast Facts; Web Links; Index



fast facts
FAST FACTS from this volume
  • Almost two in every five Australians (38.1%), aged 14 years or older, had used an illicit drug at some time in their lives and more than one in seven (13.4%) had used illicit drugs in the previous 12 months. (2007 National Drug Strategy Household Survey)
  • The most commonly-reported illicit drug used in the previous 12 months was marijuana/cannabis (9.1% of people aged 14 years or older), followed by ecstasy (3.5%), pain killers/analgesics used for non-medical purposes (2.5%) and meth/amphetamine (which includes ‘ice’) (2.3%). (2007 NDSHS)
  • Between 2004 and 2007, there was a significant fall in the proportion of the population aged 14 years or older who had used an illicit drug in the past 12 months, from 15.3% to 13.4%. The average age at which new users first tried illicit drugs remained close to 19 years of age. (2007 NDSHS)
  • Driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of illicit drugs was reported by 2.9% of Australians aged 14 years or older. One in nine persons (11.0%) was verbally abused and one in 50 (2.0%) was physically abused by someone affected by illicit drugs. (2007 NDSHS)
  • Marijuana/cannabis is the most common illicit drug for which people are arrested in Australia, accounting for almost three-quarters (71%) of arrests relating to illicit drugs in 2004-05. The proportion of arrests for amphetamine-type stimulants increased from 5% to 11% over the period of 1996-97 to 2000-01 and further increased to 13% in 2004-05. In absolute terms, the number of consumer and provider arrests for amphetamine-type stimulants increased from 3,907 in 1996-97 to 8,846 in 2000-01, increasing further to 10,068 in 2004-05. (ACC, 2006)
  • The overall number of consumer and provider arrests for illicit drugs fell from 85,046 in 1996-97 to 77,333 in 2004-05. Marijuana/cannabis arrests fell from 69,136 in 1996-97 to 54,936 in 2004-05. (ACC, 2006)
  • The majority of illicit drug arrests are related to the consumption rather than the provision or sale of substances. For example, in 2004-05, over three-quarters of arrests for marijuana/cannabis (84%) and steroids (83%) were related to the consumption of those substances. (ACC, 2006)
  • Total consumption-related illicit drug arrests in Australia declined from 73,800 in 1996-97 to 62,209 in 2004-05. Arrests relating to provision of illicit substances also decreased from 1996-97 to 2002-03, from 24,994 to 14,613 (ACC, 2006).
  • The proportion of people imprisoned with a drug-related most serious offence ranged between 9% and 11% over the period 1995 to 2005. In 2005, one in ten sentenced prisoners was imprisoned for drug-related offences. (ABS)
  • The 2003-04 DUCO survey of juvenile detainees shows a clear link between substance use and crime. Seventy per cent of juvenile offenders reported being under the influence of either alcohol (22%), drugs (24%) or both alcohol and drugs (24%) at the time of offence. Over one-fifth of juvenile offenders (21%) were also sick or hurting due to lack of drugs at the time of offence.
  • Cannabis was the most frequently reported drug used by juveniles who were drug-intoxicated at the time of offence (75%), followed by amphetamine (39%). Over one-third (35%) of juveniles who were drug intoxicated at the time of offence had used two or more drugs. (DUCO, 2003-04)
  • Regular violent juvenile offenders and regular property offenders are more likely to engage in regular drug use (86% and 84% respectively) than non-regular offenders (49%). Cannabis is the most frequently used drug among both types of offenders, followed by alcohol. (DUCO, 2003-04)
  • Violent juvenile offenders were more likely to have used alcohol at the time of offence (51%) than other substances, whereas property offenders were more likely to have used both alcohol (36%) and marijuana/cannabis (36%). (DUCO, 2003-04)
  • Almost one in four adults in police custody have used speed or ice before offending, almost one in 10 have used heroin and more than half have used cannabis. (AIC, 2007)
  • In 2006-07, almost 7.5 tonnes of illicit drugs were seized by Australian law enforcement in more than 61,000 seizures. This includes 4781 kilos of cannabis, 993 kilos of amphetamine-type stimulants, 634 kilos of cocaine and 85 kilos of heroin. Over 82,300 people were arrested for drug offences in the 2006-07 financial year. (ACC, 2008)
  • 2003 estimates show the total cost to Australia of illicit drugs to be at least $6.7 billion. Of that figure, business costs were $3.3 billion (representing almost 2% of total Australian corporate profits). The unpaid output of the household sector in 2003 is estimated to have been reduced by $397 million. (ADLRF)
  • Drug-attributable crime costs were $3,248 million, while crime attributable to illicit drugs and alcohol used together cost a further $1,310 million. Nearly a quarter of violent crime attracting jail sentences is attributable to illicit drugs alone, or to illicit drugs and alcohol used together. (ADLRF)
  • Health care costs were $74 million (after taking account of the reduction in costs resulting from the premature deaths of drug users). Drug-attributable road crash costs were $612 million, of which approximately 20% were borne by the business sector. (ADLRF)
  • Australia’s use of marijuana, heroin and amphetamines reached epidemic proportions in 1998, with 20% of the population using illegal drugs and surveys showing some of the worst addiction rates in the world. Since then there has been a 5% drop, with rates continuing to trend sharply downwards. The level of heroin use in the community has dropped from 0.8 to 0.2% of the adult population, and heroin overdoses have dropped from a peak of more than 1100 in 1999 to fewer than 400 today.
  • Countries that have successfully battled high addiction rates have one thing in common – they pour large sums of money into rehabilitation services and treat addiction as a medical rather than law and order problem.
  • There is some concern that existing drug policies have failed and it is time to introduce a relaxation of drug laws. Opposing this is the concern that any softening of laws will lead to increased drug use and greater problems in society.
  • Various options for drug policy reform have surfaced over recent years, including harsher penalties, prescription models and decriminalisation.
  • Support for the legalisation of illicit drugs declined slightly between 2004 and 2007. (2007 NDSHS)
  • In 2007, there were higher levels of support for increased penalties for the sale or supply of illicit drugs, compared with 2004. (2007 NDSHS).