San Diego Criminal Lawyers Blog
Drugs and alcohol abuse impact a person’s life—from their family, co-workers, and friends to the community in general—and the repercussions can be devastating. The weight of addiction reaches far and wide, from schools to prisons and everything in between. In fact, one of the greatest impacts is the connection between addiction and criminal activity.
Statistics
It may come as a surprise to learn that the lion’s share of people in prison are there in part due to substance abuse. Four out of five offenders have abused alcohol or drugs, and about half of all inmates experience a clinical addiction. At the time of their arrest, more than 50% of arrestees are under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Drugs
While there are certainly criminals who do not abuse drugs, and drug users who do not commit crimes, when it comes to the most severe levels of drug use, the correlation between crime and drug use is real. Undoubtedly, significant drug use intensifies and prolongs any preexisting criminal activity in which a person may be involved. There are four basic types of impacts drugs may have on crime:
- Crimes related to drug use, when a person’s thoughts and activities are influenced by the drug;
- Crimes related to drug attainment, when crimes are committed in order to pay for a drug habit;
- Crimes related to procedures, when individuals produce, transport, or sell drugs;
- Crimes related to rivalries, when turf wars or other violence intensifies among those involved in the drug manufacturing world
Alcohol
- Individuals with dependence on alcohol commit 40% of all violent crimes.
- Of convicts currently jailed in this country, 2 million say they were drinking when they were arrested;
- One out of every two assaults and homicides occur after the assailant, victim, or both, have been drinking;
- More than 60% of attacks among people who know one another—about half a million– occur while the attacker is using alcohol.
More to Know…
- Some seedy segments of the adult world do not have the corner on addiction and criminal activity:
- Eight in ten youths in juvenile detention systems were committing a drug or alcohol offense or tested positive for drugs or alcohol at the time of their arrest.
- Annually, more than 500,000 college students under the age of 25 are assaulted by a fellow student who has been drinking.
- Alcohol is involved in 95% of all violent crimes that occur on college campuses.
- 90% of sexual assault crimes and cases of date rape that occur on college campuses involve alcohol.
Has Substance Abuse Impacted Your Criminality?
If you have been charged with a crime and drugs or alcohol were a factor, there may be help available to you. The dedicated criminal defense attorneys at Boertje & Associates will fight to get you treatment in order to turn your life around. To discuss the possibilities, schedule a confidential consultation in our San Diego office today.