Drug and Alcohol-Related Crime Among University Students

• Author: Trevor Bennett,Katy Holloway
• DOI: 10.1177/0306624X18769601
• Published date: 01 October 2018
• Date: 01 October 2018
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X18769601

International Journal of

Offender Therapy and

Comparative Criminology

2018, Vol. 62(14) 4489 –4509

© The Author(s) 2018

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DOI: 10.1177/0306624X18769601

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Article

Drug and Alcohol-Related

Crime Among University

Students

Trevor Bennett1 and Katy Holloway1

Abstract

The aim of the article is to determine the approximate prevalence of drug and

alcohol-related crime among university students in seven universities in the United

Kingdom and to assess whether there are differences between substance users who

offend and substance users who do not offend. In total, 7,855 students submitted a

questionnaire. The results of the study show that 10% of students who used drugs

and about the same percentage who 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, those who frequently went out to

socialise, frequent users of nightclubs off campus, and those in poor physical or

mental health. The article proposes that preventative interventions should be used to

address alcohol and drug-related crime and its consequences.

Keywords

drug misuse, alcohol misuse, crime, university, student

Introduction

Research on substance misuse among university students has found that most consume

alcohol while at university and a notable proportion take illegal drugs (Bingham,

Driscoll, & De Barra, 2015; Deniozou, 2015; Johnston, Malley, Bachman, &

Schulenberg, 2012). However, less research has been conducted on the extent to which

student substance misusers are involved in the commission of alcohol- and drug-

related crime.

1University of South Wales, Pontypridd, UK

Corresponding Author:

Trevor Bennett, University of South Wales, Llantwit Road, Treforest, Pontypridd CF37 1DL, Wales, UK.

Email: trevor.bennett@southwales.ac.uk

769601IJOXXX10.1177/0306624X18769601International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative CriminologyBennett and Holloway

research-article2018

4490 International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 62(14)

Substance-related criminal behavior is important as it constitutes one of the harms

of alcohol and drug misuse. Alcohol-related crimes encompass interpersonal violence,

criminal damage, sexual assault, and coerced or forced rape (Lawyer, Resnick,

Bakanic, Burkett, & Kilpatrick, 2010; McCauley, Ruggiero, Resnick, Conoscenti, &

Kilpatrick, 2009; Perkins, 2002). Drug-related crimes include drug-facilitated rape,

drug dealing, and property crime (Kilpatrick, Resnick, Ruggiero, Conoscenti, &

McCauley, 2007). Substance-related crime also generates harms to the individual

offender. Drug buying and selling brings the offender into contact with the “systemic”

crime of drug markets (Goldstein, 1985; Jacobs & Wright, 2006). It also exposes the

offender to being caught and prosecuted for his or her crimes. University students are

potentially on course to embark upon successful careers. Substance-related crime and

the possible involvement of the police and the courts risks impeding or halting this

development.

To find out what is already known about substance-related crime among university

students, we conducted a brief review of the research literature. As the review was

intended primarily as a guide rather than a comprehensive summary, we based the

literature search on just two databases that commonly include publications on sub-

stance use and related outcomes (PsycInfo [PI] and Web of Science [WOS]). The

search terms (adapted for the specific database) were as follows: Alcohol: TI(alcohol*)

AND TI(student*) AND AB(fight* OR driv* OR damage* OR police OR vandal* OR

injur*) AND AB(university* OR college); and Drugs: TI(drug*) AND TI(student*)

AND AB(fight* OR driv* OR damage* OR police OR vandal* OR injur* OR drug

sell* OR drug deal* OR antisocial OR anti-social OR theft OR viol* OR assault* OR

steal Or crim*) AND AB(university* OR college).

The selection criteria were that the study should be written in English and obtain-

able through the local university bibliographic databases. The study should be based

on a cross-sectional or longitudinal survey of students in higher education, including

universities and colleges (2 and 4 years). The publication should provide results on the

association between drug use and/or alcohol use and offending, and the results should

be presented as numbers or percentages along with the total number of cases.

The attrition of cases as a result of the selection procedures and methodological

considerations was as follows: search hits: PI (alcohol = 128, drugs = 211), WOS

(alcohol = 211, drugs = 70); nonduplicates selected: PI (alcohol = 21, drugs = 13),

WOS (alcohol = 46, drugs = 10); papers obtained: PI (alcohol = 6, drugs = 2), WOS

(alcohol = 27, drugs = 4); and papers suitable for analysis: PI (alcohol = 4, drugs = 0),

WOS (alcohol = 5, drugs = 2). In addition, relevant papers already held by us were also

included: alcohol = 10 and drugs = 2. In total, 19 studies were included in the review

covering alcohol-related offending and four studies covering drug-related offending.

Alcohol Use and Crime Surveys

The main sources of information on alcohol use and offending among students come

from studies that have investigated criminal behavior as one of the negative conse-

quences of alcohol use. The most common harms mentioned encompassing criminal