Abstract
Objectives: The aim of the paper is to determine the approximate prevalence of drug and alcohol-related crime among university students in 7 universities in the UK and to assess whether there are differences between substance users who offend and substance users who do not offend.
Methods: Seven of the nine universities in Wales in the UK participated in a survey of drug use among students during the academic year 2015-2016. In total, 7,855 students submitted a questionnaire.
Results: The results of the study show that 10 per cent of students who used drugs and about the same percentage that used alcohol had committed substance-related crimes in the current academic year. The most prolific offenders (in relation to both drug and alcohol-related offending) were: males, students in their first year at university, those who frequently went out to socialise, and those in poor physical or mental health.
Conclusions: The paper proposes that preventative interventions should address the problem of alcohol and drug-related crime and its consequences.
Methods: Seven of the nine universities in Wales in the UK participated in a survey of drug use among students during the academic year 2015-2016. In total, 7,855 students submitted a questionnaire.
Results: The results of the study show that 10 per cent of students who used drugs and about the same percentage that used alcohol had committed substance-related crimes in the current academic year. The most prolific offenders (in relation to both drug and alcohol-related offending) were: males, students in their first year at university, those who frequently went out to socialise, and those in poor physical or mental health.
Conclusions: The paper proposes that preventative interventions should address the problem of alcohol and drug-related crime and its consequences.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 4489-4509 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| Journal | International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology |
| Volume | 62 |
| Issue number | 14 |
| Early online date | 2 May 2018 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 2 May 2018 |
Keywords
- university students
- drug misuse
- alcohol misuse
- criminal behaviour
- university
- student
- crime
