Engagement with the criminal justice system among opioid-dependent people: a retrospective cohort study

作者：Degenhardt Louisa^*; Gisev Natasa; Trevena Judy; Larney Sarah; Kimber Jo; Burns Lucy; Shanahan Marian; Weatherburn Don

来源：Addiction, 2013, 108(12): 2152-2165.

DOI：10.1111/add.12324

• Cohort study
• crime
• data linkage
• opioid dependence
• opioid substitution therapy

AimsStudies of offending among people who use drugs typically focus upon small and potentially unrepresentative samples. We examined an entire population of opioid-dependent clients%26apos; contact with the criminal justice system to develop more accurate population-wide measures of offending among opioid-dependent people in Australia. %26lt;br%26gt;DesignRetrospective data linkage study. %26lt;br%26gt;SettingAll entrants to opioid substitution therapy (OST) for opioid dependence in New South Wales, Australia, between 1985 and 2010, with data on court appearances from 1 December 1993 to 31 March 2011. %26lt;br%26gt;ParticipantsAll 48069 valid cohort members who received OST between 1985 and 2010. %26lt;br%26gt;MeasurementsPerson-years (PY) of observation and charge rates for major crime categories estimated by sex, age and time. %26lt;br%26gt;FindingsA total of 638545 charges were laid against cohort members between 1993 and 2011. Eight in 10 males (79.7%) and 67.9% of females had at least one charge; rates were 94.15 per 100 PY [95% confidence interval (CI)=93.89-94.41] among males, and 53.19 per 100 PY (95% CI=52.91-53.46) among females, and highest at 15-19 years [175.74/100 PY males (95% CI=174.45-177.03), 75.60/100PY females (95% CI=74.46-76.76)] and 20-24 years [144.61/100 PY males (95% CI=143.70-145.53), 84.50/100 PY females (95% CI=83.53-85.48)]. The most frequent charges were theft (24.5% of charges), traffic/vehicle (16.3%), offences against justice (10.5%), illicit drug (10.0%), intentional injury (9.9%) and public order offences (8.9%). Overall, 20.8% of the cohort accounted for 67.4% of charges. The most frequently appearing 5.6% of the cohort accounted for 24.3% of costs ($75.5 million). %26lt;br%26gt;ConclusionsAmong opioid-dependent people in Australia, a minority account for the majority of the criminal justice contact and levels of offending are not consistent over time, sex or age.

• 出版日期2013-12