Explaining the Drug–Crime Link: Theoretical, Policy and Research Issues
Explaining the Drug–Crime Link: Theoretical, Policy and Research Issues
复制标题
解释毒品与犯罪的联系：理论、政策和研究问题
作者：
T. Seddon
药物成瘾是许多财产犯罪背后的发动机的信念一直是最近英国毒品政策的一个关键部分。文献回顾表明，经验证据并不支持这一观点。它还表明，现有研究的根本弱点是它未能妥善解决因果关系的问题，主要依赖于单向机械的“因果”模型。据建议，毒品与犯罪之间的联系需要从一系列在不同层面发挥作用的因素的相互作用和相互关系的角度来考虑，并作为一系列复杂过程的一部分。对政策的影响是，依赖于改善获得治疗的机会在减少毒品相关犯罪方面可能效果有限，而强调解决社会排斥问题可能更有成效。未来的研究需要进一步探讨本文所概述的因果关系的概念。它还必须审查正在出现的多种药物使用模式，并关注少数民族群体和妇女。
Abstract The belief that drug addiction is the motor behind much property crime has been a key part of recent UK drug policy. Review of the literature shows that the empirical evidence does not support this view. It also demonstrates that the fundamental weakness of existing research is its failure to address the question of causality properly, relying mainly on uni-directional mechanistic ‘cause-and-effect’ models. It is suggested that the drug–crime link needs to be conceived in the context of the interaction and inter-relation of a range of factors operating at different levels and as part of a set of complex processes. The implications for policy are that a reliance on improving access to treatment is likely to be of limited effectiveness in reducing drug-related crime and that an emphasis on tackling social exclusion may be more fruitful. Future research needs to explore further the notion of causality outlined in this paper. It must also examine emerging patterns of polydrug use and look at minority ethnic groups and women.