Drugs link to 70% of crimes on probation

More than 70% of crimes committed by offenders under supervision in the community were linked to drug and alcohol misuse, research shows.

The first national survey of offenders under the supervision of the Probation Service found 67% of offenders had misused illegal drugs, compared to 27% of the general population.

The survey, seen by the Irish Examiner, provides a rare picture of the scale of alcohol and drug misuse among offenders and their link with crimes, such as theft, burglary, assault, and public disorder.

The survey involved 2,963 adult offenders on the caseloads of probation officers on Apr 1, 2011. It found:

• 89% of offenders used drugs or misused alcohol currently or in the past;
• 27% misused drugs only, 20% misused alcohol only and 42% misused both;
• 21% of offenders were currently misusing two or more substances;
• Alcohol is the substance most commonly misused.

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Source: Cormac O'Keefe, Irish Examiner, 01/09/2012