title: Drug spend and acquisitive offending by substance misusers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The need to generate income to fund drug misuse is assumed to be a driver of involvement in acquisitive crime. We examined the influence of drug misuse expenditure, and other factors, on acquisitive offending.
  
  
  METHODS
  Clients (N=1380) seeking drug treatment within 94 of 149 Drug Action Teams (DATs) across England completed a comprehensive survey, incorporating validated scales and self-report measures, such as levels of drug and alcohol use and offending.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty per cent (N=554) had committed acquisitive crime in the previous month. Regression analysis showed that acquisitive offending was associated with the presence of problematic use of crack cocaine, poly-drug use, sharing injecting equipment, unsafe sex, overdose risk, higher drug spend, unemployment, reduced mental wellbeing, and younger age.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Rates of acquisitive crime among drug users are high. Drug using offenders can be distinguished from drug using non-offenders by problematic crack cocaine use, younger age, income-related factors, and indicators of a chaotic life style and complex needs. Behavioural and demographic factors were associated more strongly with acquisitive crime than drug use expenditure, suggesting that the need to finance drug use is not necessarily the main factor driving acquisitive offending by drug users.
authors.affiliation: National Drug Evidence Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK. karen.hayhurst@manchester.ac.uk
authors.forename: Karen P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Hayhurst
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Millar
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pierce
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Davies
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Weston
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Donmall
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003415:Crime / Q000191:economics* / Q000639:trends*; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs / Q000191:economics*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D013287:Illicit Drugs