Drugs and crime : a study of incarcerated female offenders

Holly Johnson
ISBN 0 642 53861 1 ; ISSN 1326-6004
Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology: 2004
(Research and public policy series, no. 63)

Foreword

The Australian Institute of Criminology has underway two national research projects to monitor illegal drug use by offenders: the Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) Program and the Drug Use Careers of Offenders (DUCO) project. DUMA is an ongoing monitoring activity that has been in operation since 1999 monitoring drug use among police detainees. This program provides early warning data on drug use every 3 months from seven key sites across Australia. The DUCO project was designed to provide more detailed information on the drug use careers of adult males, females and juveniles incarcerated in Australian prisons. The results of the DUCO male study were released in 2003 and the results of the DUCO juvenile study are expected in 2005.

Our knowledge and understanding of female offenders and their drug use in Australia is relatively limited. Many studies have been small scale, specific to a jurisdiction and often comparability of data across studies is limited. Female DUCO attempts to overcome these issues through a large-scale study across six jurisdictions in Australia in 2003. In total 470 women who were incarcerated in prisons participated in the study; only 16 per cent of women who were approached refused to participate. The majority of women who were interviewed reported persistent offending and extensive drug use histories. Large proportions were drug-dependent, under the influence of drugs at the time of the offence, and actively involved in the drug market in the form of buying or selling drugs. While it is well documented that many Indigenous offenders have problems with alcohol, this report also highlights substantial levels of illegal drug use by Indigenous women.

To develop interventions that have a chance of "working" those interventions need to be built on an evidence base that has identified the key risk factors for drug use and crime. Importantly, female DUCO has shown that women are more likely to attribute their offending to drugs, and more often begin drug use prior to offending than was the case for male DUCO. This report highlights that risk factors for drug use among female offenders include early exposure to drug and alcohol problems by family members, incarceration as a juvenile, mental health problems, sexual and physical abuse, and use of prescription drugs. Clearly understanding patterns in offending and drug use, and the connection between the two, are important for assisting in the development of interventions and crime reduction strategies for offenders. It is also important to understand that not one size fits all with females having different drug and crime careers than their male counterparts. The DUCO studies help to address both the gap in Australian criminological research of prisoners as well as providing a significant database for furthering our understanding of the risk factors specific to female offenders.

Toni Makkai
Director
Australian Institute of Criminology