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Australian Crime: Facts and Figures 2003
Drug offences and self-reported use
This section is in two parts. The first is based on arrests of consumers (those who are caught in possession of drugs for personal consumption) and providers (including those arrested for drug dealing and trafficking) for illicit drugs in Australia, taken from the Australian Crime Commission's Illicit Drug Report 2001-2002. The second section details trends in illicit drug use based on the 2001 National Drug Strategy Household Survey and the Australian Institute of Criminology's Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) Project 2002 Annual Report.
Drugs arrests
The Australian Bureau of Criminal Intelligence reported drug arrest and seizure statistics from 1992-2001. The 2001-2002 Illicit Drug Report was released this year by the Australian Crime Commission (a merger of the Australian Bureau of Criminal Intelligence, National Crime Authority and the Office of Strategic Crime Assessments). This section provides an overview of arrest patterns for offenders between 1995-1996 and 2001-2002.
There is information on arrests for the following types of drugs:
- cannabis;
- heroin (and other opioids);
- amphetamines;
- cocaine; and
- other drugs (not defined elsewhere).
Cannabis arrests include expiation notices, drug infringement notices, and simple cannabis offence notices.
Offenders involved in drug arrests are divided into two categories:
- Consumers: persons charged with user type offences (e.g. possessing or administering drugs for own personal use); and
- Providers: persons charged with supply-type offences (e.g. importation, trafficking, selling, cultivation and manufacture).
In the case of a person being charged with consumer and provider offences, the provider charge takes precedence and the person is counted only as a provider of that drug.
- Figure 94: Number of drug arrests by type of drug, 1995-1996 to 2001-2002
- Figure 95: Number of consumers arrested as percentage of all drug arrests specific to each type of drug, 1995-1996 and 2001-2002
- Figure 96: Number of providers arrested as percentage of all drug arrests specific to each type of drug, 1995-1996 and 2001-2002
- Figure 97: Drug consumers, number of arrests as a percentage of total drug arrests, by type of drug, 2001-2002
- Figure 98: Drug providers, number of arrests as a percentage of total drug arrests, by type of drug, 2001-2002
- Figure 99: Drug consumers, number of arrests as a percentage of total drug arrests, by gender and type of drug, 2001-2002
- Figure 100: Drug providers, number of arrests as a percentage of total drug arrests, by gender and type of drug, 2001-2002
Illicit drug use
The 2001 National Drug Strategy Household Survey was conducted between July and October 2001. Almost 27,000 Australians aged 14 years and over were surveyed about their experience and knowledge of, and attitudes towards drugs.
This section details:
- Recent use of illicit drugs (in the past 12 months);
- Proportion of the population who recently used cannabis, heroin, cocaine, designer drugs, hallucinogens, or other illicit drugs, as well as pain-killers, tranquillisers barbiturates, other opiates and amphetamines for nonmedicinal purposes; and
- Proportion who reported injecting drugs.
- Figure 101: Recent use of any illicit drug, proportion of the male population aged 14 years and over, 1998 and 2001
- Figure 102: Recent use of any illicit drug, proportion of the female population aged 14 years and over, 1998 and 2001
- Figure 103: Percentage who reported injecting drugs, 1988-2001
The AIC's Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) program monitors illicit drug use among police detainees in several sites across Australia on a quarterly basis. DUMA provides a reasonable and independent indicator of drugrelated crime within these specific areas. Two methods are used to obtain this information: a questionnaire and a urine sample. As an ongoing monitoring system, it enables law enforcement to track long-term changes in drugs and crime. 2002 was the fourth year of data collection in the DUMA project, and the first year of the second phase of data collection. Funding was provided by the Australian Government Attorney General's Department and South Australian Attorney General's Department.
By 2002 seven sites were being monitored: East Perth in Western Australia, Southport and Brisbane City in Queensland, Bankstown and Parramatta in New South Wales, and Adelaide and Elizabeth in South Australia. Brisbane City, Adelaide City and Elizabeth began participating in 2001.
Data are collected quarterly and presented in the following figures as annual averages.
- Figure 104: Percentage of adult male police detainees testing positive to amphetamines, 1999-2002
- Figure 105: Percentage of adult male police detainees testing positive to cocaine, 1999-2002
- Figure 106: Percentage of adult male police detainees testing positive to opiates, 1999-2002
- Figure 107: Percentage of adult male police detainees testing positive to any drug, 1999-2002