write a final essay integrating the material from Phases 4, 5 and 6.
Using the three essays you have written (Phases 4, 5,6), as your main source material, and incorporating و write a 500-word (minimum) essay answering the original research question you selected in Phase 4.
phase 4 :
Is there a link between illegal drug use and criminal behavior?
Statistically, crime and drug use seem to go hand in hand since those dependent on drugs seem to be disproportionally involved in criminal activities to sustain their drug habits. The current understanding of drugs and crime is that illegal drug use is almost automatically linked to criminal activities. Individuals who develop an addiction to drugs that are expensive such as heroin and cannot afford to sustain the habit will, in most cases, result in crime to satisfy the addiction. A number of crimes are usually perpetrated by drug users or by individuals under the influence of drugs for a number of reasons, which makes drugs a common link when it comes to crime. The media has shaped the understanding of the topic since the press during news coverage has shown the interconnection between crimes and drugs, which in most cases involve violent crimes all the way to petty crime. Personal experience has also shaped the understanding from witnessing people I know go through drug-related criminal charges due to the addiction to drugs such as crack and heroin. Courses undertaken in school have also shade light on the subject of drugs and crime, which has given a better understanding of the impact and effects in the society we live in. This has also has helped one acknowledge that the problem has existed for a reasonable amount of time and advanced methods should be devised to tackle the issue especially decriminalization of drug use.
phase 5:
Pierce, M., Hayhurst, K., Bird, S. M., Hickman, M., Seddon, T., Dunn, G., & Millar, T. (2017). Insights into the link between drug use and criminality: Lifetime offending of criminally-active opiate users. Drug and alcohol dependence, 179, 309-316. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5608072/
The research question the study was designed to answer was: what is the nexus between drug use and criminality? The question guided the research in identifying the various factors that create the link between the use of drugs such as opiates and offending records. Pierce et al. (2017) strived to explain criminality on the basis of drug use. Whilst crime might be attributed to a number of issues, the research’s primary focus was on the role of drug use in facilitating the increased offence, especially among adults. Hence, the availability of offending records was the research’s dependent variable. Essentially, excessive exposure to drug use increases the risk of poverty, heightening the likelihood of addicts engaging in criminal offences. Some of the drugs associated with increased crime are opiates and cocaine (Pierce et al., 2017).
The use of opiates and cocaine were the research’s independent variables. They were used in assessing the connection between the use of drugs and the existence or rather availability of offence records. Pierce et al. (2017) revealed that individuals that tested positive for opiates had a record of criminal offences. Besides, the ultimate difference in research’s test groups regarding offence records were heightened by opiate initiation. Therefore, there would be a connection between preventing drug use and lowering the extent of criminal offences. In other words, the researchers manipulated the use of drugs to understand their impact on the level of crime.
Data collection entailed a survey of the individuals subjected to drug test for cocaine and opiate metabolites. The research sampled apprehended individuals and obtained information about drug use from the Drug Test Record (DTR) between 2005 and 2009. To enhance the reliability of the data collected, the researchers factored in English National Drug Treatment Monitoring System to provide additional information regarding link between use of drugs and offences. Previous records of apprehended addicts were obtained from the Police National Computer (PNC). DRT records are a must requirement within the criminal justice agencies following an arrest for a given trigger offence. Trigger offences include supply or possession of heroin or cocaine, theft, burglary, just to mention a few. PNC, on the other hand, is an operational database that is used in recording all the arrests. Therefore, it provided great insights regarding criminal charges and drug tests results for the apprehended individuals.
The research sample had to meet the following criteria, an individual between 18 and 19 years. The drug test must have been accomplished undisputed, and that the subject was sanctioned and charged after the arrest. As such, it acted as the ultimate evidence from the PNC record. The research’s cohort analysis encompassed 18,965 opiate positive and 78,838 individuals described as negative controls. After analyzing the available data, the research found that individuals who tested positive for opiates had the highest rate of offences that those tested negative for these drugs. Overall, the study revealed the connection between the use of opiates and recent criminal charges. Still, it demonstrated that the link between criminality and drug use varies by gender.
Towards the end of the study, Pierce et al. (2017) affirmed that the research had some weaknesses. First, it used a retrospective design that tends to limit the inferences made from the research. Also, it was equally impossible to hypothesize how the crime before opiate use could be associated with the use of other substances. Piece et al. (2017) revealed that measures that were used in the study were imperfect. For instance, the study relied on a saliva test to identify opiate users for the past 24 hours and only captured the less-problematic users.
phase 6 : file uploaded
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