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Indigenous male offending and substance abuse

Abstract

Many Indigenous communities are concerned about substance abuse and community safety. This paper compares Indigenous and non-Indigenous male offenders' drug use and offending in order to identify how better to prevent and respond to drug-related crime. The data come from two sources: a survey of male adult prisoners (the Drug Use Careers of Offenders project), and an ongoing collection of data from police detainees (the Drug Use Monitoring in Australia program). The results indicate that Indigenous male offenders are more likely to have earlier and more serious contact with the criminal justice system. It also seems that urban Indigenous male offenders have similar experiences with illicit drugs to their non-Indigenous counterparts, including intravenous use, dependency and involvement in the illicit drug trade. However, overall it is alcohol that seems to be most directly associated with adult Indigenous male offending, as alcohol intoxication was directly attributed as a cause of the most recent crime by many Indigenous male offenders. In terms of risk factors, Indigenous men are younger, report lower levels of education and are less likely to have been employed. For those seeking to reduce Indigenous offending and drug use, the criminal justice system provides a unique window for developing and implementing specific Indigenous interventions at the local level. However, drug demand and harm reduction strategies must be sensitive to the use patterns of different groups in specific locations.

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