Drugs and Crime

A high proportion of crimes committed in Britain are drugs-related, with many offenders reporting drug use prior to the commission of their offence. However, the direct link between drug taking and crime is often less clear than is supposed if only because many of those offenders would have committed offences anyway, and these offences need to be separated from those that are directly caused by drugs. This book is a major contribution to this debate, and provides an authoritative and much-needed overview of the range of issues associated with drugs-related crime. The author pays particular attention to policing drugs and drug markets and the way they operate, so that a central theme of the book is the importance of reducing supply at local, national and international levels. Accordingly there are chapters on drugs - crime link, sentencing drug offenders, policing drug offenders (including the use of informers), coercive treatment, and on gender issues, including the treatment of women drug users. This updated and expanded new edition builds upon the strengths of the first edition, extends its coverage to Scotland and Ireland, and includes a new chapter on theoretical debates surrounding drugs and crime issue.