The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
ISSN: 0095-2990 (Print) 1097-9891 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/iada20
Indicators of Criminality During Treatment for Drug Abuse Gary L. Long & R. G. Demaree To cite this article: Gary L. Long & R. G. Demaree (1975) Indicators of Criminality During Treatment for Drug Abuse, The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 2:1, 123-136, DOI: 10.3109/00952997509002728 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/00952997509002728
Published online: 07 Jul 2009.
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Date: 24 April 2016, At: 19:03
AMER. J. DRUG & ALCOHOL ABUSE,2( l), pp. 123- 136 (1975)
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Indicators of Criminality During Treatment for Drug Abuse’”
GARY L. LONG, M.A. R. G. DEMAREE, Ph.D. Institute of Behavioral Research Texas Christian University Fort Worth, Texas 76129
Many studies have pointed to a sharp reduction in criminal activities upon entry into drug treatment programs [ 1, 21, as well as to a generally low ebb of criminal behavior during treatment. The present study sought to add to such findings by taking a close look at several indicators of criminality in a sample of 3483 outpatients who were followed for the first 6 to 12 months in methadone maintenance or drug-free treatment programs at 31 different agencies participating in the Drug Abuse Reporting Program [31. The data available on each patient, admitted during a oneyear period starting June 1, 1971, consisted of an Admission Record and bimonthly status reports.
SAMPLE The characteristics of the sample are depicted in Table 1. Males made up three-fourths of the sample. About one-third were 21-25 years of age; the remainder were about equally divided among patients under 21, 26-30, and over 30 years of age. Blacks accounted for about half the sample; whites and Puerto Ricans for approximately 20% each; and, MexicanAmericans for 7%. A small group consisting of less than 2% of the patients, was labeled “Others.” Approximately nine out of ten were in methadone 123 ~
~~
*See Acknowledgment.
LONG AND DEMAREE
124
Table 1. Distribution of Sex, Age, Ethnic Group, and Type of Treatment Received
N ~~
~
~
Male Female
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%
~~
Under 18 18-20 21-22 23-25 26-30 3 1-40 Over 40 Black Puerto Rican Mexican-American White Others Methadone Maintenance Drug Free Total
2666 817
76.6 23.4
146 480 583 734 685 603 252
4.2 13.8 16.7 21.0 19.7 17.4 7.2
1776 666 244 74 1 56 3096 3 87
50.9 19.2 7.0 21.3 1.6 89.0 11.0
3483
100.0
maintenance programs, while the remaining tenth received drug-free outpatient treatment. Excluded from the sample were patients who were in residential programs, such as therapeutic communities, and who therefore had little or no opportunity to commit criminal acts. A relatively small number of patients (less than 2%) were dropped for incomplete data, leaving a final sample of 3483 patients.
CRIMMALITY VARIABLES The Admission Record for each patient contained information on prior criminality, legal status at admission, and an indication as to whether the individual had an illegal means of support during the 2-month period preceding entry into treatment. The bimonthly status provided information as to arrests, days in jail, and whether the patient had an illegal source of support. The number of arrests were reported separately for gambling or running numbers, prostitution or pimping, stealing or forging, drug violations,
INDICATORS OF CRIMINALITY
125
and crimes against persons. Due, however, to the infrequent occurrence of arrests under the first two categories, these were combined with stealing and forging to make up the category, crimes of profit. Arrests for minor offenses, such as disorderly conduct, vagrancy, drunkenness, and motor vehicle violations were not included.
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RESULTS Pretreatment Criminality About one-third of the patients had a legal status, such as probation (1 3.2%) or parole (5.0%), or some legal action pending, such as awaiting trial ( 1 1.5%) or other (1 3%). Although legal status did not appear to differ with age, about 7% more males than females had some kind of special legal status. A particular legal status was reported for only 13.0% of the Puerto Ricans, compared to 43.9% of the Mexican-Americans. In the total sample, 23.4% were reported to have had no prior arrests, and 16.3% had been arrested only once, but 1 1.4% were reported to have been arrested more than ten times. As expected, due in part to years at risk, age was associated with the number of prior arrests. About 20% of males had no arrests, compared to 36% of the females; also, the 13.1% of the males with more than ten arrests was twice as great as the 6.5% of the females. Among the Puerto Ricans, 37.3% had no arrests, compared to 11.0% of the Mexican-Americans. A considerable number of patients had spent over 36 months in confinement. This was the case for (a) 43.6% of the 855 patients who were over 30 years of age, (b) 20.3% of the males, compared to 8.2% of the females, and (c) 33.6% of the Mexican-Americans. Criminality During the First Six Months in Treatment Inasmuch as the 3483 patients were continued in treatment for at least 6 months, the distributions and interrelationships of during-treatment measures (including the criminality variables) for the first three 2-month periods were not complicated by terminations from treatment. Apart from 13 patients who were dropped for incomplete data on arrests, the present sample is the v m e as has been studied in detail and reported elsewhcre [ 3 ] . Oile of the most interesting findings, as can be seen in Tablc 2, was the absence of any appreciable change in the distributions of
LONG AND DEMAREE
126
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Table 2. Percentage of 3483 Patients for Whom an Illegal Means of Support, Given Numbers of Arrests, and Days in Jail Were Reported During the First 6 Months in Treatment
Criminality Indications
First 2 Months
Second 2 Months
Third 2 Months
Illegal means of support No Yes
94.2 5.8
94.5 5.5
94.7 5.3
97.4 2.1 0.3 0.2
97.4 2.2 0.3 0.1
97.2 2.3 0.3 0.2
97.4 1.1 0.8 0.7
97.0 1.2 0.7 1.1
96.4 1.7 1.2 0.7
91.3 6.7 1.7 0.3
91.6 6.3 1.6 0.5
91.3
Number of arrests 0 1
2 More than 2
Days in jail 0
1-2 3-10 More than 10 Total number of indicators present 0 1
2 3
6.2 2.1 0.4
the criminality variables over the first three 2-month periods. This was also true for a composite based on the number of criminality indicators present. In view of the stability of the distributions over time, one is led to wonder about the extent to which the same patients are involved. In the case of illegal support, a dichotomous variable, there was a fairly strong tendency in this direction, as shown by correlations of 0.59 between the first and second periods, 0.57 between the second and third, and 0.33 between the first and third. While the other two variables, based on arrests and days in jail, showed only a slight carryover from one time period to another, they were correlated 0.5 1, 0.58, and 0.66 within the three periods, in order. Although illegal support was also correlated with these variables, the relationship was not strong. With respect to categories of charges, the percentage of patients arrested
INDICATORS OF CRIMINALITY
127
one or more times during each of the first three 2-month periods was approximately 1.6 for crimes of profit, 0.9 for drug violations, and 0.4 for crimes against persons. These results are in accord with other studies [ 1,41 which have pointed to a higher frequency of charges against drug users for crimes of profit and drug violations than for crimes against persons.
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Patterns of Arrests Over Time in Treatment As shown in Table 3, 234, or 6.7%, of the 3483 patients were arrested one or more times during the first 6 months in treatment. Only 41 of these 234 patients were arrested during more than one of the three 2-month periods in the first 6 months; 27 of these 41 were arrested once during two of the three periods, and two patients were arrested once during each of the
Table 3. Number and Percent of Individuals With Given Patterns of Arrests During the First 6 Months in Treatment Number of Arrests
Pattern:
Total
Number of Patients with Pattern
Percent of 234Patients with Pattern
First 2 Months
Second 2 Months
Third 2 Months
1
0
0
50
21.4
0
1
0
48
20.5
0
0
1
62
26.5
0
1
1
10
4.3
1
0
1
7
3.0
1
1
0
10
4.3
2
0
0
8
3.4
0
2
0
7
3.0
0
0
2
5
2.1
>2
0
0
6
2.6
0
>2
0
3
1.3
0
0
>2
4
1.7
0
1
2
3 11
1.3 4.6
234
100.0
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LONG AND DEMAREE
three periods. A total of 20 patients were arrested twice during a single period but in none of the remaining two periods, while 13 had more than two arrests during a single period. The largest number, by far, were the 160 patients who were arrested once during a single period. Except for a smattering of patients with arrests during two periods, the preceding were the patterns of arrests among the 3483 outpatients over the first 6 months in treatment. The finding which is most striking is that only 41, or 1.2%, of the 3483 patients were arrested during more than one of the three periods, compared to the 193, or 5.5%, who were arrested during only one of the 2-month periods. These results are in accord with low correlations for arrests in one period to another [31, and indicate that among outpatients who remain in treatment for at least three periods there is only a slight tendency for arrests t o be repeated from one period to another. Criminality During the First Year in Treatment Among the 3483 patients, 3023 were still in treatment during the fifth 2-month period, and 2616 were continued into the sixth period. The three criminality indicators over the first six periods in treatment were then expressed as percentages of patients in each period with illegal support, one or more arrests, and one or more days in jail. These percentages are referred to as prevalences per 2-month period. Comparisons According to Ethnic Group In Table 4 it can be seen that as a group the Mexican-Americans had the highest prevalence on the three indicators during all six periods in treatment. The gap between the Mexican-American group and the other three ethnic groups was especially wide for illegal support and time in jail. A test of the hypothesis of no difference in the prevalence of time in jail was made in terms of the S statistic, based on Friedman rank sums [ 5 1 ; the value of 16.96 for S was significant beyond the 0.01 level for the 3 degrees of freedom present. The same test for arrest rates resulted in a value of 15.6 1 for S with 3 degrees of freedom, which was significant beyond the 0.01 level. Many explanations might be offered for the finding that the
INDICATORS OF CRIMINALITY
129
Table 4. Prevalence of Illegal Support, Arrests, and Time in Jail During the First Six 2-Month Periods for Each of Four Ethnic Groups and the Total Sample, Including Sample Size Percent With Illegal Support
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Period Ethnic Grout,
1
2
3
4
5
6
Black h e r t o Rican Mexican-American White
5.7 4.9 11.1 5.7
4.7 5.3 11.1 6.1
5.1 5.7 9.5 4.6
5.7 5.1 7.9 4.8
5.3 5.0 8.3 4.3
5.3 3.9 7.1 3.7
5.8
5.5
5.3
5.5
5.2
4.8
Period 3
4
5
6
Total
Percent Arrested Ethnic Group
1
2
Black Puerto Rican Mexican-American White
2.7 1.5 4.6 2.6
2.6 2.4 5.8 2.2
2.9 2.3 4.6 2.7
3.0 2.0 5.0 3.0
3.0 1.6 5.1 3.1
3.0 1.6 3.8 2.3
Total
2.6
2.6
2.8
2.9
2.8
2.7
Period 3
4
5
6
Percent With Time in Jail Ethnic Group
1
2
Black Puerto Rican Mexican-American White
3.1 1.7 5.O 1.7
3.3 2.1 8.7 1.9
3.6 2.4 8.7 3.3
3.9 1.6 8.3 3.6
4.1 2.4 8.3 3.1
3.6 2.0 7.7 2.0
Total
2.6
3.0
3.6
3.6
3.7
3.1
Sample Size Ethnic Group Black Puerto Rican Mexican-American White Other
1-4 1776 666 244 74 1 56
Period 5 1567 587 198 628 43
6 1375 518 159 523 41
Total
3483
3023
2616
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LONG AND DEMAREE
Mexican-American group fared the worst of any ethnic group on criminality indicators during treatment, as well as prior to treatment. An obvious consideration is that almost all the Mexican-Americans were in treatment in three medium-sized cities located in the Southwestern part of the U.S. That law enforcement practices may have accounted, in part, for these findings is not discounted. This point was made by Maddux [6] in a study of 372 Mexican-Americans from two of the three cities. Upon comparison of arrests in this group of DARP patients with other ethnic groups in treatment elsewhere in the country he suggested that the higher prevalence of arrests for the Mexican-Americans may reflect more intense police surveillance, and not necessarily greater criminality. The implication of the preceding is that “Mexican-American” is more than just an ethnic identity and is linked to influences of the agencies, urban settings, and geographic regions where Mexican-Americans were in treatment. A similar caution applies to the Puerto Rican ethnic group which had the lowest prevalence per 2-month period of arrests and time in jail over the six periods covering the first year in treatment. This was not the case, however, for the prevalence of illegal support. On this indicator, blacks, whites, and Puerto Ricans did not differ consistently. With respect to the prevalence of arrests, blacks and whites were on a par. In all six periods, however, blacks had a higher prevalence of time in jail than did whites. Comparisons According to Sex Upon inspection of Table 5 , the reader is apt to be struck by the relatively slight differences in the prevalence of criminality indicators for males and females. Based on the lower extent of criminality indications for females prior to entering treatment, greater differences might have been expected during treatment than were observed. Over the first year in treatment there was no apparent difference between males and females in the prevalence of illegal support per 2-month period. Even for the first three periods in treatment, the mean prevalence of illegal support yielded a chi-square value of 2.31 which was significant at only the 0.14 probability level with 1 degree of freedom. The prevalence among females of arrests declined from 3.2% in the first 2 months to 1.6% in the last 2 months of the first year in treatment. For males the prevalence of arrests ranged from 2.4 to 3.2% per period, but no trend was evident.
INDICATORS OF CRIMINALITY
131
Table 5. Prevalence of Illegal Support, Arrests, and Time in Jail During the First Six 2Month Periods in Treatment, Shown Separately by Sex and the Total, Including Sample Size Percent With Illegal Support Sex Male Female
1
2
3
6.1 5.1
5.9 4.3
5.7 4.3
Total
5.8
5.5
5.3
Period 4
5
6
5.6 5.4
5.1 5.3
4.4 5.8
5.5
5.2
4.8
5
6
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~~
Percent Arrested Period 4
Sex Male Female
1
2
3
2.4 3.2
2.8 2.3
3.1 2.0
3.0 2.6
3.2 1.8
3.0 1.6
Total
2.6
2.6
2.8
2.9
2.8
2.7
Percent With Time in Jail Period Sex
1
2
3
4
5
6
Male Female
2.7 2.5
3.2 2.4
4.0 2.4
3.9 2.9
4.5 1.7
3.7 1.3
Total
2.6
3.0
3.6
3.6
3.7
3.1
Sample Size Period Sex
1-4
5
6
Male Female
2666 817
2297 7 26
1987 629
Total
3483
3023
2616
The prevalence of time in jail was lower for females than for males in all six periods, but this was particularly the case for the last two periods of the first year in treatment. Comparisons According to Age The finding which stands out in Table 6 is the higher prevalence in the 23-25 year old group than in any other age group on all three indicators.
LONG AND DEMAREE
132
Table 6. Prevalence of Illegal Support, Arrests, and Time in Jail During the First Six 2-Month Periods in Treatment, Shown Separately by Age Groups and the Total, Including Sample Size
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Percent With Illegal Support Age Group Under 18 18-20 21-22 23-25 26-30 31-40 Over 40
1 2.7 6.0 5.1 7.5 4.9 6.4 4.4
2 0.6 2.3 2.4 5.9 3.2 3.6 1.1
3 2.0 3.4 4.9 7.0 4.9 4.8 7.5
Period 4 2.0 4.8 4.8 7.0 5.6 4.8 6.8
5 2.5 4.9 4.6 6.6 5.7 3.2 6.3
6 3.0 5.7 3.2 5.8 5.2 3.3 6.0
Total
5.8
5.5
5.3
5.5
5.2
4.8
6 1.1 3.0 2.1 3.1 2.2 3.5 2.0
Percent Arrested Period Age Group Under 18 18-20 21-22 23-25 26-30 31-40 Over 40
1 1.4 2.3 2.3 4.1 2.7 1.9 1.6
2 0.7 3.O 2.5 3.4 2.5 2.4 2.4
3 1.4 2.8 2.3 4.8 1.2 2.9 3.6
0.7 3.0 3.3 4.1 3.1 2.4 0.8
5 0.9 4.2 3.0 3.0 2.6 2.7 1.8
Total
2.6
2.6
2.8
2.9
2.8
2.7
5
6 1.1 3.1 2.1 3.7 2.8
4
Percent With Time in Jail Period 3 4 2
Age Group
1
Age 18 18-20 21-22 23-25 26-30 3 1-40 Over 40
2.1 2.1 2.3 3.7 2.7 2.7 I .6
0.7 3.0 3.O 3.7 3.O 3.4 2.8
1.4 3.0 2.6 5.6 3.0 4.4 2.8
0.7 3.2 3.2 4.6 3.7 4.7 2.0
0.9 4.8 3.9 4.0 4.3 3.1 3.2
Total
2.6
3.0
3.6
3.6
3.7
4.5
2.6 3.1
(continued on next page)
INDICATORS OF CRIMINALITY
133
(Table 6 continued) Sample Size Period
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Age Group
Under 18 18-20 21-22 23-25 26-30 3 1-40 Over 40 Total
1-4
5
6
146 480 583 734 68 5 603 252
118 409 50 1 647 598 525 225
98 343 442 559 5 14 458 202
3483
3023
2616
This was clearly evident in regard to the prevalence of illegal support. With respect to arrests, the 23-25 group had the highest prevalence of arrests during the first four periods and next to the highest during the last two periods of the first year in treatment. The under 18 group had the lowest arrest rate in five of the six periods. The next-to-the-lowest arrest rate was taken in four of the six periods by the 252 patients who were over 40 years of age. The S statistic for these data had a value of 22.5 which was significant beyond the 0.01 level with 6 degrees of freedom. The findings with respect to the prevalence of time in jail mirrored the findings of arrests. Over the first three periods the 23-25 group had the highest percentage of patients with one or more days in jail; during the second half of the first year in treatment this group had the next-to-the highest percentage during two periods and the third highest in the other. The under 18 group had the lowest prevalence of time in jail for all periods, e3cept the first. Again, the over 40 group in all six periods had a relatively low percentage of pateints who were in jail for one or more days. The S value of 25.98 was significant beyond the 0.01 level with 6 degrees of freedom. A further analysis was made of categories of charges associated with arrests during the first three periods in treatment. During these periods the 23-25 year old group had an arrest rate of 2.7, 2.0, and 3. t%, respectively, for crimes of profit. The lowest rates were observed in the
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134
LONG AND DEMAREE
under 18 and over 40 groups. The S statistic for these data had a value of 10.3 which had a probability value of 0.11 with 6 degrees of freedom. The preceding results, pointing toward a greater involvement in criminal activities by the 23-25 year old group, are of particular interest in view of the fact that the 21-22 and 26-30 groups did not come close to having the same prevalence on the three ciminality indicators. A possible explanation which has been offered Ellis and Stephens [4] is that of heavy involvement in the drug subculture by individuals in their midtwenties. These investigators also found that 23 and 25 year old narcotic addicts had higher arrest rates in the year prior to admission into treatment than did younger individuals. With respect to older addicts, evidence has been cited [71 that criminal behavior tends to decline around 30 years of age. In the present study, the over 40 group had the lowest prevalence of criminality indicators, along with the under 18 group. Relationships Between Criminality and Other Outcomes During Treatment In a sample of 2824 methadone maintenance patients, drawn from the present sample, a series of studies [ 81 was made of the relationships between differential outcomes over time in treatment and patient characteristics, pretreatment variables, and intreatment measures. In this research it was found that an illegal source of support during the 2-month pretreatment period was indicative of adverse outcomes for employment, alcohol consumption, and drug use during the first year in treatment. Criminality indications during treatment were associated with lack of gainful employment or engagement as a student or housewife, and use of drugs (particularly heroin, barbiturates, and cocaine) during the first year in treatment. Upsurging in Criminality Associated with Termination from Treatment Among all other outpatients in the cohort from which the sample for the present study was drawn, the prevalence per 2-month period of arrests and time in jail was 1.5 to 2.0 times as great during the first three periods in treatment as in the present sample of outpatients [9]. More striking, however, were the differences in the prevalence of illegal support. As shown in Table 7, the prevalence of illegal support during terminal periods in treatment (shown by underscoring) is considerably
INDICATORS OF CRIMINALITY
135
Table 7. Prevalence of Illegal Support During Given 2-Month Periods for Patients Who Remained in Outpatient Treatment Programs for Differing Numbers of Periods (Prevalence in Terminal Periods is Underscored); Percent of Patients With Illegal Support During the 2-Month Period Indicated Range ofM
Pretmt.
2
792-826
32.0
9.1
12.4
3
5 86-61 7
35.5
10.6
11.3
11.8
4
430467
42.3
9.9
8.4
6.9
10.2 -
5
364405
36.5
6.4
6.4
7.4
9.2
6.9 -
6
2555-2614
39.5
5.0
4.8
4.7
4.1
4.9
4.7
Total
48824901
37.7
7.0
7.3
6.2
5.5
5.1
4.7
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Periods in Treatment
2
1
3
4
5
6
aDue to missing data, particularly on termination reports, the number of patients for whom data were available varied as shown.
higher than the prevalence in the same period for patients who were continued in treatment. It is also evident from Table 7 that across the time in treatment there is a higher prevalence of illegal support among early terminees. A further finding of interest is the apparent lack of any relationship to the prevalence of illegal support during the 2-month pretreatment period. The drop in prevalence of illegal support upon induction into treatment is striking, however, and agrees with findings of a similar nature by Ellis and Stephens [41.
CONCLUSIONS The present study of an illegal means of support, arrests, and time in jail as indicators of criminality during treatment for drug abuse revealed no trends over the first year in treatment. Greater evidence of criminality was found, however, for males, Mexican-Americans, and 23-25 year old patients than for other groups.
136
LONG AND DEMAREE ACKNOWLEDGMENT
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The work upon which this study is based was performed pursuant to Contracts No. HSM-42-72-132and No. HSM-42-69-6,with the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. The interpretations and conclusions presented in this report do not necessarily reflect the position of the National Institute on Drug Abuse or the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Appreciation is expressed to Dr. Richard C. Stephens for his review of an early version of the present paper.
REFERENCES Greenberg, S. W., and Adler, F., Crime and addiction: An empirical analysis of the literature, 1920-1973, Contemp. DnrgProbl. 3(2):221-269 (1974). Stephens, R. C., and Ellis, R., Narcotic addicts and crime: Analysis of recent trends, accepted for publication in Cziminology. (1) ( 1 9 7 9 , 12(4):474-488. Demaree, R. G., and Neman, J., Behavioral criteria for assessment of outcomes during treatment for drug users in the D A M : 197 1-72 admissions, IBR Rept. No. 74-23, Texas Christian Univ., 1974. Ellis, R., and Stephens, R. C., The arrest history of narcotic addicts prior to admission: A methodological note, accepted for publication in Drug Forum, 5( 1),(1975). Hollander, M., and Wolfe, D. A., Nonparametric Statistical Methods, New York, Wiley, 1973. Maddux, J. F., Characteristics of Mexican American addicts, in Proc. Institute on Narcotic Addiction Among Mexican Americans in the Southwest, Washington, D.C.,National Institute of Mental Health, 1971, pp. 59-68. Winick, C., The life cycle of the narcotic addict and of addiction, Bull. Narcot. 16, 1 - 1 1 (1964). Demaree, R. G., Neman, J. F., Long, G. L., and Cant, B. L., Patterns of behavioral outcomes over time in methadone maintenance treatment, IBR Rept. No. 74-21, Texas Christian Univ., 1974. Long, G. L., and Demaree, R. G., Indicators of criminality during treatment for drug abuse, IBR Rept. No. 74-27, Texas Christian Univ., 1974.
ISSN: 0095-2990 (Print) 1097-9891 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/iada20
Indicators of Criminality During Treatment for Drug Abuse Gary L. Long & R. G. Demaree To cite this article: Gary L. Long & R. G. Demaree (1975) Indicators of Criminality During Treatment for Drug Abuse, The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 2:1, 123-136, DOI: 10.3109/00952997509002728 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/00952997509002728
Published online: 07 Jul 2009.
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Date: 24 April 2016, At: 19:03
AMER. J. DRUG & ALCOHOL ABUSE,2( l), pp. 123- 136 (1975)
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Indicators of Criminality During Treatment for Drug Abuse’”
GARY L. LONG, M.A. R. G. DEMAREE, Ph.D. Institute of Behavioral Research Texas Christian University Fort Worth, Texas 76129
Many studies have pointed to a sharp reduction in criminal activities upon entry into drug treatment programs [ 1, 21, as well as to a generally low ebb of criminal behavior during treatment. The present study sought to add to such findings by taking a close look at several indicators of criminality in a sample of 3483 outpatients who were followed for the first 6 to 12 months in methadone maintenance or drug-free treatment programs at 31 different agencies participating in the Drug Abuse Reporting Program [31. The data available on each patient, admitted during a oneyear period starting June 1, 1971, consisted of an Admission Record and bimonthly status reports.
SAMPLE The characteristics of the sample are depicted in Table 1. Males made up three-fourths of the sample. About one-third were 21-25 years of age; the remainder were about equally divided among patients under 21, 26-30, and over 30 years of age. Blacks accounted for about half the sample; whites and Puerto Ricans for approximately 20% each; and, MexicanAmericans for 7%. A small group consisting of less than 2% of the patients, was labeled “Others.” Approximately nine out of ten were in methadone 123 ~
~~
*See Acknowledgment.
LONG AND DEMAREE
124
Table 1. Distribution of Sex, Age, Ethnic Group, and Type of Treatment Received
N ~~
~
~
Male Female
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%
~~
Under 18 18-20 21-22 23-25 26-30 3 1-40 Over 40 Black Puerto Rican Mexican-American White Others Methadone Maintenance Drug Free Total
2666 817
76.6 23.4
146 480 583 734 685 603 252
4.2 13.8 16.7 21.0 19.7 17.4 7.2
1776 666 244 74 1 56 3096 3 87
50.9 19.2 7.0 21.3 1.6 89.0 11.0
3483
100.0
maintenance programs, while the remaining tenth received drug-free outpatient treatment. Excluded from the sample were patients who were in residential programs, such as therapeutic communities, and who therefore had little or no opportunity to commit criminal acts. A relatively small number of patients (less than 2%) were dropped for incomplete data, leaving a final sample of 3483 patients.
CRIMMALITY VARIABLES The Admission Record for each patient contained information on prior criminality, legal status at admission, and an indication as to whether the individual had an illegal means of support during the 2-month period preceding entry into treatment. The bimonthly status provided information as to arrests, days in jail, and whether the patient had an illegal source of support. The number of arrests were reported separately for gambling or running numbers, prostitution or pimping, stealing or forging, drug violations,
INDICATORS OF CRIMINALITY
125
and crimes against persons. Due, however, to the infrequent occurrence of arrests under the first two categories, these were combined with stealing and forging to make up the category, crimes of profit. Arrests for minor offenses, such as disorderly conduct, vagrancy, drunkenness, and motor vehicle violations were not included.
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RESULTS Pretreatment Criminality About one-third of the patients had a legal status, such as probation (1 3.2%) or parole (5.0%), or some legal action pending, such as awaiting trial ( 1 1.5%) or other (1 3%). Although legal status did not appear to differ with age, about 7% more males than females had some kind of special legal status. A particular legal status was reported for only 13.0% of the Puerto Ricans, compared to 43.9% of the Mexican-Americans. In the total sample, 23.4% were reported to have had no prior arrests, and 16.3% had been arrested only once, but 1 1.4% were reported to have been arrested more than ten times. As expected, due in part to years at risk, age was associated with the number of prior arrests. About 20% of males had no arrests, compared to 36% of the females; also, the 13.1% of the males with more than ten arrests was twice as great as the 6.5% of the females. Among the Puerto Ricans, 37.3% had no arrests, compared to 11.0% of the Mexican-Americans. A considerable number of patients had spent over 36 months in confinement. This was the case for (a) 43.6% of the 855 patients who were over 30 years of age, (b) 20.3% of the males, compared to 8.2% of the females, and (c) 33.6% of the Mexican-Americans. Criminality During the First Six Months in Treatment Inasmuch as the 3483 patients were continued in treatment for at least 6 months, the distributions and interrelationships of during-treatment measures (including the criminality variables) for the first three 2-month periods were not complicated by terminations from treatment. Apart from 13 patients who were dropped for incomplete data on arrests, the present sample is the v m e as has been studied in detail and reported elsewhcre [ 3 ] . Oile of the most interesting findings, as can be seen in Tablc 2, was the absence of any appreciable change in the distributions of
LONG AND DEMAREE
126
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Table 2. Percentage of 3483 Patients for Whom an Illegal Means of Support, Given Numbers of Arrests, and Days in Jail Were Reported During the First 6 Months in Treatment
Criminality Indications
First 2 Months
Second 2 Months
Third 2 Months
Illegal means of support No Yes
94.2 5.8
94.5 5.5
94.7 5.3
97.4 2.1 0.3 0.2
97.4 2.2 0.3 0.1
97.2 2.3 0.3 0.2
97.4 1.1 0.8 0.7
97.0 1.2 0.7 1.1
96.4 1.7 1.2 0.7
91.3 6.7 1.7 0.3
91.6 6.3 1.6 0.5
91.3
Number of arrests 0 1
2 More than 2
Days in jail 0
1-2 3-10 More than 10 Total number of indicators present 0 1
2 3
6.2 2.1 0.4
the criminality variables over the first three 2-month periods. This was also true for a composite based on the number of criminality indicators present. In view of the stability of the distributions over time, one is led to wonder about the extent to which the same patients are involved. In the case of illegal support, a dichotomous variable, there was a fairly strong tendency in this direction, as shown by correlations of 0.59 between the first and second periods, 0.57 between the second and third, and 0.33 between the first and third. While the other two variables, based on arrests and days in jail, showed only a slight carryover from one time period to another, they were correlated 0.5 1, 0.58, and 0.66 within the three periods, in order. Although illegal support was also correlated with these variables, the relationship was not strong. With respect to categories of charges, the percentage of patients arrested
INDICATORS OF CRIMINALITY
127
one or more times during each of the first three 2-month periods was approximately 1.6 for crimes of profit, 0.9 for drug violations, and 0.4 for crimes against persons. These results are in accord with other studies [ 1,41 which have pointed to a higher frequency of charges against drug users for crimes of profit and drug violations than for crimes against persons.
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Patterns of Arrests Over Time in Treatment As shown in Table 3, 234, or 6.7%, of the 3483 patients were arrested one or more times during the first 6 months in treatment. Only 41 of these 234 patients were arrested during more than one of the three 2-month periods in the first 6 months; 27 of these 41 were arrested once during two of the three periods, and two patients were arrested once during each of the
Table 3. Number and Percent of Individuals With Given Patterns of Arrests During the First 6 Months in Treatment Number of Arrests
Pattern:
Total
Number of Patients with Pattern
Percent of 234Patients with Pattern
First 2 Months
Second 2 Months
Third 2 Months
1
0
0
50
21.4
0
1
0
48
20.5
0
0
1
62
26.5
0
1
1
10
4.3
1
0
1
7
3.0
1
1
0
10
4.3
2
0
0
8
3.4
0
2
0
7
3.0
0
0
2
5
2.1
>2
0
0
6
2.6
0
>2
0
3
1.3
0
0
>2
4
1.7
0
1
2
3 11
1.3 4.6
234
100.0
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128
LONG AND DEMAREE
three periods. A total of 20 patients were arrested twice during a single period but in none of the remaining two periods, while 13 had more than two arrests during a single period. The largest number, by far, were the 160 patients who were arrested once during a single period. Except for a smattering of patients with arrests during two periods, the preceding were the patterns of arrests among the 3483 outpatients over the first 6 months in treatment. The finding which is most striking is that only 41, or 1.2%, of the 3483 patients were arrested during more than one of the three periods, compared to the 193, or 5.5%, who were arrested during only one of the 2-month periods. These results are in accord with low correlations for arrests in one period to another [31, and indicate that among outpatients who remain in treatment for at least three periods there is only a slight tendency for arrests t o be repeated from one period to another. Criminality During the First Year in Treatment Among the 3483 patients, 3023 were still in treatment during the fifth 2-month period, and 2616 were continued into the sixth period. The three criminality indicators over the first six periods in treatment were then expressed as percentages of patients in each period with illegal support, one or more arrests, and one or more days in jail. These percentages are referred to as prevalences per 2-month period. Comparisons According to Ethnic Group In Table 4 it can be seen that as a group the Mexican-Americans had the highest prevalence on the three indicators during all six periods in treatment. The gap between the Mexican-American group and the other three ethnic groups was especially wide for illegal support and time in jail. A test of the hypothesis of no difference in the prevalence of time in jail was made in terms of the S statistic, based on Friedman rank sums [ 5 1 ; the value of 16.96 for S was significant beyond the 0.01 level for the 3 degrees of freedom present. The same test for arrest rates resulted in a value of 15.6 1 for S with 3 degrees of freedom, which was significant beyond the 0.01 level. Many explanations might be offered for the finding that the
INDICATORS OF CRIMINALITY
129
Table 4. Prevalence of Illegal Support, Arrests, and Time in Jail During the First Six 2-Month Periods for Each of Four Ethnic Groups and the Total Sample, Including Sample Size Percent With Illegal Support
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Period Ethnic Grout,
1
2
3
4
5
6
Black h e r t o Rican Mexican-American White
5.7 4.9 11.1 5.7
4.7 5.3 11.1 6.1
5.1 5.7 9.5 4.6
5.7 5.1 7.9 4.8
5.3 5.0 8.3 4.3
5.3 3.9 7.1 3.7
5.8
5.5
5.3
5.5
5.2
4.8
Period 3
4
5
6
Total
Percent Arrested Ethnic Group
1
2
Black Puerto Rican Mexican-American White
2.7 1.5 4.6 2.6
2.6 2.4 5.8 2.2
2.9 2.3 4.6 2.7
3.0 2.0 5.0 3.0
3.0 1.6 5.1 3.1
3.0 1.6 3.8 2.3
Total
2.6
2.6
2.8
2.9
2.8
2.7
Period 3
4
5
6
Percent With Time in Jail Ethnic Group
1
2
Black Puerto Rican Mexican-American White
3.1 1.7 5.O 1.7
3.3 2.1 8.7 1.9
3.6 2.4 8.7 3.3
3.9 1.6 8.3 3.6
4.1 2.4 8.3 3.1
3.6 2.0 7.7 2.0
Total
2.6
3.0
3.6
3.6
3.7
3.1
Sample Size Ethnic Group Black Puerto Rican Mexican-American White Other
1-4 1776 666 244 74 1 56
Period 5 1567 587 198 628 43
6 1375 518 159 523 41
Total
3483
3023
2616
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LONG AND DEMAREE
Mexican-American group fared the worst of any ethnic group on criminality indicators during treatment, as well as prior to treatment. An obvious consideration is that almost all the Mexican-Americans were in treatment in three medium-sized cities located in the Southwestern part of the U.S. That law enforcement practices may have accounted, in part, for these findings is not discounted. This point was made by Maddux [6] in a study of 372 Mexican-Americans from two of the three cities. Upon comparison of arrests in this group of DARP patients with other ethnic groups in treatment elsewhere in the country he suggested that the higher prevalence of arrests for the Mexican-Americans may reflect more intense police surveillance, and not necessarily greater criminality. The implication of the preceding is that “Mexican-American” is more than just an ethnic identity and is linked to influences of the agencies, urban settings, and geographic regions where Mexican-Americans were in treatment. A similar caution applies to the Puerto Rican ethnic group which had the lowest prevalence per 2-month period of arrests and time in jail over the six periods covering the first year in treatment. This was not the case, however, for the prevalence of illegal support. On this indicator, blacks, whites, and Puerto Ricans did not differ consistently. With respect to the prevalence of arrests, blacks and whites were on a par. In all six periods, however, blacks had a higher prevalence of time in jail than did whites. Comparisons According to Sex Upon inspection of Table 5 , the reader is apt to be struck by the relatively slight differences in the prevalence of criminality indicators for males and females. Based on the lower extent of criminality indications for females prior to entering treatment, greater differences might have been expected during treatment than were observed. Over the first year in treatment there was no apparent difference between males and females in the prevalence of illegal support per 2-month period. Even for the first three periods in treatment, the mean prevalence of illegal support yielded a chi-square value of 2.31 which was significant at only the 0.14 probability level with 1 degree of freedom. The prevalence among females of arrests declined from 3.2% in the first 2 months to 1.6% in the last 2 months of the first year in treatment. For males the prevalence of arrests ranged from 2.4 to 3.2% per period, but no trend was evident.
INDICATORS OF CRIMINALITY
131
Table 5. Prevalence of Illegal Support, Arrests, and Time in Jail During the First Six 2Month Periods in Treatment, Shown Separately by Sex and the Total, Including Sample Size Percent With Illegal Support Sex Male Female
1
2
3
6.1 5.1
5.9 4.3
5.7 4.3
Total
5.8
5.5
5.3
Period 4
5
6
5.6 5.4
5.1 5.3
4.4 5.8
5.5
5.2
4.8
5
6
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~~
Percent Arrested Period 4
Sex Male Female
1
2
3
2.4 3.2
2.8 2.3
3.1 2.0
3.0 2.6
3.2 1.8
3.0 1.6
Total
2.6
2.6
2.8
2.9
2.8
2.7
Percent With Time in Jail Period Sex
1
2
3
4
5
6
Male Female
2.7 2.5
3.2 2.4
4.0 2.4
3.9 2.9
4.5 1.7
3.7 1.3
Total
2.6
3.0
3.6
3.6
3.7
3.1
Sample Size Period Sex
1-4
5
6
Male Female
2666 817
2297 7 26
1987 629
Total
3483
3023
2616
The prevalence of time in jail was lower for females than for males in all six periods, but this was particularly the case for the last two periods of the first year in treatment. Comparisons According to Age The finding which stands out in Table 6 is the higher prevalence in the 23-25 year old group than in any other age group on all three indicators.
LONG AND DEMAREE
132
Table 6. Prevalence of Illegal Support, Arrests, and Time in Jail During the First Six 2-Month Periods in Treatment, Shown Separately by Age Groups and the Total, Including Sample Size
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Percent With Illegal Support Age Group Under 18 18-20 21-22 23-25 26-30 31-40 Over 40
1 2.7 6.0 5.1 7.5 4.9 6.4 4.4
2 0.6 2.3 2.4 5.9 3.2 3.6 1.1
3 2.0 3.4 4.9 7.0 4.9 4.8 7.5
Period 4 2.0 4.8 4.8 7.0 5.6 4.8 6.8
5 2.5 4.9 4.6 6.6 5.7 3.2 6.3
6 3.0 5.7 3.2 5.8 5.2 3.3 6.0
Total
5.8
5.5
5.3
5.5
5.2
4.8
6 1.1 3.0 2.1 3.1 2.2 3.5 2.0
Percent Arrested Period Age Group Under 18 18-20 21-22 23-25 26-30 31-40 Over 40
1 1.4 2.3 2.3 4.1 2.7 1.9 1.6
2 0.7 3.O 2.5 3.4 2.5 2.4 2.4
3 1.4 2.8 2.3 4.8 1.2 2.9 3.6
0.7 3.0 3.3 4.1 3.1 2.4 0.8
5 0.9 4.2 3.0 3.0 2.6 2.7 1.8
Total
2.6
2.6
2.8
2.9
2.8
2.7
5
6 1.1 3.1 2.1 3.7 2.8
4
Percent With Time in Jail Period 3 4 2
Age Group
1
Age 18 18-20 21-22 23-25 26-30 3 1-40 Over 40
2.1 2.1 2.3 3.7 2.7 2.7 I .6
0.7 3.0 3.O 3.7 3.O 3.4 2.8
1.4 3.0 2.6 5.6 3.0 4.4 2.8
0.7 3.2 3.2 4.6 3.7 4.7 2.0
0.9 4.8 3.9 4.0 4.3 3.1 3.2
Total
2.6
3.0
3.6
3.6
3.7
4.5
2.6 3.1
(continued on next page)
INDICATORS OF CRIMINALITY
133
(Table 6 continued) Sample Size Period
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Age Group
Under 18 18-20 21-22 23-25 26-30 3 1-40 Over 40 Total
1-4
5
6
146 480 583 734 68 5 603 252
118 409 50 1 647 598 525 225
98 343 442 559 5 14 458 202
3483
3023
2616
This was clearly evident in regard to the prevalence of illegal support. With respect to arrests, the 23-25 group had the highest prevalence of arrests during the first four periods and next to the highest during the last two periods of the first year in treatment. The under 18 group had the lowest arrest rate in five of the six periods. The next-to-the-lowest arrest rate was taken in four of the six periods by the 252 patients who were over 40 years of age. The S statistic for these data had a value of 22.5 which was significant beyond the 0.01 level with 6 degrees of freedom. The findings with respect to the prevalence of time in jail mirrored the findings of arrests. Over the first three periods the 23-25 group had the highest percentage of patients with one or more days in jail; during the second half of the first year in treatment this group had the next-to-the highest percentage during two periods and the third highest in the other. The under 18 group had the lowest prevalence of time in jail for all periods, e3cept the first. Again, the over 40 group in all six periods had a relatively low percentage of pateints who were in jail for one or more days. The S value of 25.98 was significant beyond the 0.01 level with 6 degrees of freedom. A further analysis was made of categories of charges associated with arrests during the first three periods in treatment. During these periods the 23-25 year old group had an arrest rate of 2.7, 2.0, and 3. t%, respectively, for crimes of profit. The lowest rates were observed in the
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134
LONG AND DEMAREE
under 18 and over 40 groups. The S statistic for these data had a value of 10.3 which had a probability value of 0.11 with 6 degrees of freedom. The preceding results, pointing toward a greater involvement in criminal activities by the 23-25 year old group, are of particular interest in view of the fact that the 21-22 and 26-30 groups did not come close to having the same prevalence on the three ciminality indicators. A possible explanation which has been offered Ellis and Stephens [4] is that of heavy involvement in the drug subculture by individuals in their midtwenties. These investigators also found that 23 and 25 year old narcotic addicts had higher arrest rates in the year prior to admission into treatment than did younger individuals. With respect to older addicts, evidence has been cited [71 that criminal behavior tends to decline around 30 years of age. In the present study, the over 40 group had the lowest prevalence of criminality indicators, along with the under 18 group. Relationships Between Criminality and Other Outcomes During Treatment In a sample of 2824 methadone maintenance patients, drawn from the present sample, a series of studies [ 81 was made of the relationships between differential outcomes over time in treatment and patient characteristics, pretreatment variables, and intreatment measures. In this research it was found that an illegal source of support during the 2-month pretreatment period was indicative of adverse outcomes for employment, alcohol consumption, and drug use during the first year in treatment. Criminality indications during treatment were associated with lack of gainful employment or engagement as a student or housewife, and use of drugs (particularly heroin, barbiturates, and cocaine) during the first year in treatment. Upsurging in Criminality Associated with Termination from Treatment Among all other outpatients in the cohort from which the sample for the present study was drawn, the prevalence per 2-month period of arrests and time in jail was 1.5 to 2.0 times as great during the first three periods in treatment as in the present sample of outpatients [9]. More striking, however, were the differences in the prevalence of illegal support. As shown in Table 7, the prevalence of illegal support during terminal periods in treatment (shown by underscoring) is considerably
INDICATORS OF CRIMINALITY
135
Table 7. Prevalence of Illegal Support During Given 2-Month Periods for Patients Who Remained in Outpatient Treatment Programs for Differing Numbers of Periods (Prevalence in Terminal Periods is Underscored); Percent of Patients With Illegal Support During the 2-Month Period Indicated Range ofM
Pretmt.
2
792-826
32.0
9.1
12.4
3
5 86-61 7
35.5
10.6
11.3
11.8
4
430467
42.3
9.9
8.4
6.9
10.2 -
5
364405
36.5
6.4
6.4
7.4
9.2
6.9 -
6
2555-2614
39.5
5.0
4.8
4.7
4.1
4.9
4.7
Total
48824901
37.7
7.0
7.3
6.2
5.5
5.1
4.7
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Periods in Treatment
2
1
3
4
5
6
aDue to missing data, particularly on termination reports, the number of patients for whom data were available varied as shown.
higher than the prevalence in the same period for patients who were continued in treatment. It is also evident from Table 7 that across the time in treatment there is a higher prevalence of illegal support among early terminees. A further finding of interest is the apparent lack of any relationship to the prevalence of illegal support during the 2-month pretreatment period. The drop in prevalence of illegal support upon induction into treatment is striking, however, and agrees with findings of a similar nature by Ellis and Stephens [41.
CONCLUSIONS The present study of an illegal means of support, arrests, and time in jail as indicators of criminality during treatment for drug abuse revealed no trends over the first year in treatment. Greater evidence of criminality was found, however, for males, Mexican-Americans, and 23-25 year old patients than for other groups.
136
LONG AND DEMAREE ACKNOWLEDGMENT
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The work upon which this study is based was performed pursuant to Contracts No. HSM-42-72-132and No. HSM-42-69-6,with the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. The interpretations and conclusions presented in this report do not necessarily reflect the position of the National Institute on Drug Abuse or the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Appreciation is expressed to Dr. Richard C. Stephens for his review of an early version of the present paper.
REFERENCES Greenberg, S. W., and Adler, F., Crime and addiction: An empirical analysis of the literature, 1920-1973, Contemp. DnrgProbl. 3(2):221-269 (1974). Stephens, R. C., and Ellis, R., Narcotic addicts and crime: Analysis of recent trends, accepted for publication in Cziminology. (1) ( 1 9 7 9 , 12(4):474-488. Demaree, R. G., and Neman, J., Behavioral criteria for assessment of outcomes during treatment for drug users in the D A M : 197 1-72 admissions, IBR Rept. No. 74-23, Texas Christian Univ., 1974. Ellis, R., and Stephens, R. C., The arrest history of narcotic addicts prior to admission: A methodological note, accepted for publication in Drug Forum, 5( 1),(1975). Hollander, M., and Wolfe, D. A., Nonparametric Statistical Methods, New York, Wiley, 1973. Maddux, J. F., Characteristics of Mexican American addicts, in Proc. Institute on Narcotic Addiction Among Mexican Americans in the Southwest, Washington, D.C.,National Institute of Mental Health, 1971, pp. 59-68. Winick, C., The life cycle of the narcotic addict and of addiction, Bull. Narcot. 16, 1 - 1 1 (1964). Demaree, R. G., Neman, J. F., Long, G. L., and Cant, B. L., Patterns of behavioral outcomes over time in methadone maintenance treatment, IBR Rept. No. 74-21, Texas Christian Univ., 1974. Long, G. L., and Demaree, R. G., Indicators of criminality during treatment for drug abuse, IBR Rept. No. 74-27, Texas Christian Univ., 1974.
