Читать книгу Criminology For Dummies - Steven Briggs - Страница 105

Are you ready for a shocking statistic? More than half of all persons arrested have illegal drugs in their systems, and roughly 25 percent of offenders in prison reported being under the influence of drugs when they committed their offense.

And alcohol isn’t better. In 2016, 28 percent of all traffic deaths (10,497) were cause by drivers under the influence. A year 2000 study showed that in roughly 40 percent of homicides and assaults, the offender had been drinking.

When substance abuse directly leads to violent conduct, criminologists refer to the connection as a psychopharmacological relationship. A clear-cut example of this kind of relationship can be found in a condition known as methamphetamine psychosis. This condition occurs in methamphetamine abusers and can result in extreme paranoia, delusions, panic, and a great propensity for violence. When a person suffering from methamphetamine psychosis commits an assault, there’s a psychopharmacological relationship between the drug and the crime.

As I explore in detail in Chapter 9, even more violence results from the business of illegal narcotics. Drug traffickers commonly protect territory and trafficking routes by using murder, assaults, and kidnapping. For example, Mexico, the primary drug source country for the United States and Canada, has experienced an explosion in drug related deaths in recent years. In 2007, the murder rate in Mexico was 7.9 deaths per 100,000. In 2019, it had risen to 29 deaths per 100,000, driven mostly by violent drug cartels. As just one example, in 2019, Mexican officials arrested the son of infamous drug cartel leader, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. In the Sinaloa state capitol, armed drug cartel members erected 19 roadblocks and engaged in 14 armed attacks until Mexican officials agreed to release El Chapo’s son, known as “Los Chapitos.” Eight people were killed and 16 injured.

The drug business within the United States also commonly results in violence as dealers compete for markets and customers. Increasingly, violent offenders commit armed robberies (known as rips) on drug dealers, seeking to obtain drugs or cash. Drug dealers are particularly susceptible to violence because they’re not likely to seek protection from law enforcement.