Prevalence of substance use disorders among the youth encourages the growth of violence and crime in the society. Violence and crime can adversely affect the quality of life of people living in these areas. Even though the prevalence of drug use and rate of crime in the society are believed to be directly related to one another, the relationship between the two is quite complex and yet not understood. The possible causes for high rates of crime associated with the use of drugs are described below. Crime committed to acquire drugs Most of the drugs are quite costly.
Young individuals who do not have money often resort to small criminal activities in order to acquire drugs. The drugs are dealt with at various levels i. e. street level, market-level and crack markets. Of the various levels at which drugs are dealt with, the dealing of drugs at street level, where dealers supply drugs to the individuals who approach them, are associated with high rates of crime and violence (Home Office, 2007). The individual trying to acquire drug might not be in the position to pay sufficient money for buying drugs.
Development of addiction and dependence towards a particular drug causes the individual to resort to various kinds of illegal activities like stealing, prostitution, violence, gun crime, and other criminal activities (Home Office, 2007). Dealing of cocaine often occurs in private premises commonly known as Crack Houses in the UK. The police and the various organizations in UK work in close partnership with one another and take numerous steps to stop dealing of drugs at the street level, in pubs, cafes and crack houses and private premises where drug trafficking occurs (Home Office, 2007). Presence of mental illness among drug addicts
People suffering from substance use disorders frequently have underlying mental illness, which may be further responsible for aggravating their violent behavior (Amodeo et al, 2004). Violent behaviour among young people with substance use disorders may further deteriorate their social and therapeutic relationships with their heath care providers, family and friends. The results of the study by Swartz et al (1998) showed that the presence of mental illness among patients with substance use disorders was associated with a significant increase in the incidence of serious violent acts in the community.