Edith Cowan University Research Online Theses: Doctorates and Masters Theses 2017 The connection between drug use and crime in Western Australia Kathryn Riordan Edith Cowan University Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses Part of the Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons, and the Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Riordan, K. (2017). The connection between drug use and crime in Western Australia. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1973 This Thesis is posted at Research Online. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1973 Edith Cowan University Copyright Warning You may print or download ONE copy of this document for the purpose of your own research or study. The University does not authorize you to copy, communicate or otherwise make available electronically to any other person any copyright material contained on this site. You are reminded of the following: Copyright owners are entitled to take legal action against persons who infringe their copyright. 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The connection between drug use and crime in Western Australia This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Kathryn Riordan Edith Cowan University School of Arts and Humanities 2017 Drugs and Crime 2 I certify that this thesis does not, to the best of my knowledge and belief: o incorporate without acknowledgment any material previously submitted for a degree or diploma in any institution of higher education; o contain any material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the text of this thesis; or o contain any defamatory material Kathryn Riordan Drugs and Crime 3 Abstract Despite decades of research, there is no consensus as to the factors that explain the association between drug use and criminal behaviour. While the evolving sophistication in research methodology has identified factors that are associated with involvement in both drug use and crime, exploration of the idiosyncratic factors that contribute to initiation, maintenance and desistence in drug use and criminal behaviour over time, across culture and social context remains unknown. In this research a grounded theory approach was used to develop an explanatory model based on the reported experiences of 22 non-Aboriginal and 11 Aboriginal adult male offenders, incarcerated in Western Australian prisons all of who have a history of involvement in drug use and crime . Using thematic text analysis, two distinct models emerged from the two cultural groups. While both models depicted involvement in both drug use and crime as a lifestyle based within a bio- psycho-social framework, each pathway described a combination of person centred and context specific constructs as influential in the aetiology, persistence, desistence and re-engagement of the drugs-crime lifestyle. Specifically, each pathway differed with respect to the identified family, cultural and social factors that delay or influence early entry into the drugs-crime lifestyle, and those which continue to influence over the life course. The models were applied to case studies to compare and contrast the applicability of the pathway model to existing theories within the literature. The research showed that the connection between drug use and criminal behaviour comprises complex personal, cultural and social factors that underpin the drugs-crime lifestyle, rather than a simplistic causal model. Furthermore, existing theoretical models interact to partially account for Drugs and Crime 4 individual’s experiences at discrete periods during their involvement in the drug- crime lifestyle. The bio-psycho-social model proposed found common underlying psychological vulnerabilities across the two cultural samples that contribute to involvement in the drug-crime lifestyle; however, disparate social, family, cultural and community factors influence the association across the life course. This complexity underscores the necessity for multi-faceted and systemic treatment modalities that involve family and culture, and the need for psycho-social support services that are linked to the treatment provided in custody for prisoners being re-integrated into the community. Drugs and Crime 5 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr Gregory Dear for all of the support, guidance and patience over the years of completing this work. I would also like to thank the Department for Corrective Services for the support offered in providing space and access to participants for this research to be carried out. Drugs and Crime 6 Table of Contents Chapter One ........................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 Rationale for the study ............................................................................................ 5 Chapter Two ........................................................................................................... 8 2.1 Addiction vs Dependence; Evolving Drug Use Terminology .............................. 8 2.2 Theories of addiction ........................................................................................14 2.3 Psychological theories of addiction ..................................................................18 2.4 Addiction, volition and self-control ...................................................................30 2.5 Morality and addiction ......................................................................................39 2.6 Addiction, spirituality and religion ....................................................................48 Chapter Three ........................................................................................................56 3.1 Theoretical Models of the Drugs-Crime Connection .........................................56 3.2 Crime leads to substance use ..........................................................................59 3.3 Empirical research exploring the crime leads to drugs hypothesis ....................59 3.4 Common Cause Model.....................................................................................65 3.5 Empirical research exploring the common cause model ...................................66 3.6 Drugs cause crime model .................................................................................70 3.7 Psychopharmacological model .........................................................................71 3.8 Empirical research exploring psychopharmacological model ............................74 3.9 Economic motivation model ........................................................................... 105 3.10 Empirical research exploring the economic motivation model ....................... 110 Drugs and Crime 7 3.11 Systemic Model ........................................................................................... 124 Chapter 4 ............................................................................................................ 155 4.1 Tripartite Framework ..................................................................................... 155 4.2 Research using the tripartite framework ........................................................ 156 4.3 Criminal Careers Framework ......................................................................... 163 4.4 Drug of choice and crime specialisation ........................................................ 174 Chapter Five ....................................................................................................... 182 5.1 The drugs-crime relationship and “Race” ....................................................... 182 5.2 International research exploration of racial differences in drug use and offending behaviour ............................................................................................................ 184 5.3 Drug use and offending in the Australian Aboriginal population ..................... 191 Chapter Six ......................................................................................................... 207 6.1 Methodological approach of Study One and Study Two Chapter Seven . .................................................................................................. 213 Study One .......................................................................................................... 213 Table 1 Demographic Data .................................................................................. 215 7.2 Results .......................................................................................................... 216 Table 2 Core Categories and Corresponding Codes (indented) .......................... 216 7.3 Discussion ....................................................................................................