BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, BC, Canada; School of Public Policy, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Drug Alcohol Depend. 2017 Nov 1;180:304-310. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2017.08.026. Epub 2017 Sep 14.
Costs attributable to criminal activity are a major component of the economic burden of substance use disorders, yet there is a paucity of empirical evidence on this topic. Our aim was to estimate the costs of crime associated with different forms and intensities of stimulant use.
Retrospective cohort study, including individuals from three prospective cohorts in Vancouver, Canada, measured biannually (2011-2015), reporting stimulant use at baseline assessment. Monthly crime costs included policing, court, corrections, and criminal victimization (2016 CAD). We estimated monthly crime costs associated with mutually exclusive categories of crack, cocaine, methamphetamine, and polystimulant use, stratified by daily/non-daily use, relative to stimulant abstinence, as well as the independent effects of treatment (opioid agonist (OAT) and other addiction treatment). We used a two-part model, capturing the probability of criminal activity and costs of crime with generalized linear logistic and gamma regression models, respectively, controlling for age, gender, education, homelessness, mental health issues, employment, prior incarceration, alcohol and opioid use.
The study sample included 1599 individuals (median age 39, 65.9% male) assessed over 5299 biannual interviews. Estimates of associated monthly crime costs ranged from $5449 [95% C.I.: $2180, $8719] for non-daily polystimulant use, to $8893 [$4196, $13,589] for daily polystimulant use. Cost differences between daily/non-daily use, injection/non-injection, and stimulant type were not statistically significant. Drug treatment was not associated with lower monthly crime costs in our sample.
Substantial crime-related costs were associated with stimulant use, emphasizing the urgency for development and implementation of efficacious treatment regimens.
犯罪活动所产生的费用是物质使用障碍经济负担的主要组成部分，但关于这一主题的实证证据很少。我们的目的是估计与不同形式和强度的兴奋剂使用相关的犯罪成本。
本研究为回顾性队列研究，纳入了来自加拿大温哥华的三个前瞻性队列的个体，每两年进行一次评估（2011-2015 年），在基线评估时报告兴奋剂使用情况。每月犯罪成本包括治安、法庭、惩教和刑事受害（2016 年加元）。我们根据每日/非每日使用情况，估计了与可卡因、冰毒和多兴奋剂使用相互排斥的类别相关的每月犯罪成本，相对于兴奋剂戒断，以及治疗（阿片类激动剂（OAT）和其他成瘾治疗）的独立影响。我们使用两部分模型，分别使用广义线性逻辑回归和伽马回归模型来捕捉犯罪活动的概率和犯罪成本，控制年龄、性别、教育程度、无家可归、心理健康问题、就业、先前监禁、酒精和阿片类药物使用情况。
研究样本包括 1599 名个体（中位数年龄 39 岁，65.9%为男性），在 5299 次半年度访谈中进行了评估。与非每日多兴奋剂使用相关的每月犯罪成本估计值为 5449 加元[95%置信区间：2180 加元，8719 加元]，与每日多兴奋剂使用相关的每月犯罪成本估计值为 8893 加元[4196 加元，13589 加元]。每日/非每日使用、注射/非注射和兴奋剂类型之间的成本差异没有统计学意义。在我们的样本中，药物治疗与每月犯罪成本降低无关。
与兴奋剂使用相关的犯罪相关费用很高，这强调了开发和实施有效治疗方案的紧迫性。
