title: Correlates of property crime in a cohort of recently released prisoners with a history of injecting drug use.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Injecting drug use (IDU) is a strong predictor of recidivism and re-incarceration in ex-prisoners. Although the links between drug use and crime are well documented, studies examining post-release criminal activity and re-incarceration risk among ex-prisoners with a history of IDU are limited. We aimed to explore factors associated with property crime among people with a history of IDU recently released from prison.
  
  
  METHODS
  Individuals with a history of IDU released from prison within the past month were recruited via targeted and snowball sampling methods from street drug markets and services for people who inject drugs (PWID) into a 6-month cohort study. A multivariate logistic regression analysis of baseline data identified adjusted associations with self-reported property crime soon after release.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Interviews were conducted a median of 23 days post-release with 141 participants. Twenty-eight percent reported property crime in this period and 85% had injected drugs since release. Twenty-three percent reported injecting at least daily. Reporting daily injecting (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 4.36; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.45-13.07), illicit benzodiazepine use (aOR = 2.59; 95% CI = 1.02-5.67), being arrested (aOR = 6.12; 95% CI = 1.83-20.45) and contact with mental health services (aOR = 4.27; 95% CI = 1.45-12.60) since release were associated with property crime.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Criminal activity soon after release was common in this sample of PWID, underscoring the need for improved pre-release, transitional and post-release drug use dependence and prevention programmes. Addressing co-occurring mental disorder and poly-pharmaceutical misuse among those with a history of IDU in prison, and during the transition to the community, may reduce property crime in this group.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Population Health, Burnet Institute, 85 Commercial Rd, Melbourne, Victoria, 3004, Australia. amy@burnet.edu.au.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kirwan
authors.affiliation: Centre for Population Health, Burnet Institute, 85 Commercial Rd, Melbourne, Victoria, 3004, Australia. brendanq@burnet.edu.au.|School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. brendanq@burnet.edu.au.
authors.forename: Brendan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Quinn
authors.affiliation: Centre for Population Health, Burnet Institute, 85 Commercial Rd, Melbourne, Victoria, 3004, Australia. rwinter@burnet.edu.au.|School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. rwinter@burnet.edu.au.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Winter
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. s.kinner@unimelb.edu.au.|Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, 207 Bouverie Street, Carlton, Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia. s.kinner@unimelb.edu.au.|School of Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. s.kinner@unimelb.edu.au.
authors.forename: Stuart A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Kinner
authors.affiliation: Centre for Population Health, Burnet Institute, 85 Commercial Rd, Melbourne, Victoria, 3004, Australia. pauld@burnet.edu.au.|School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. pauld@burnet.edu.au.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dietze
authors.affiliation: Centre for Population Health, Burnet Institute, 85 Commercial Rd, Melbourne, Victoria, 3004, Australia. stoove@burnet.edu.au.|School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. stoove@burnet.edu.au.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stoové
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003415:Crime / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055030:Drug Users / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011329:Prisoners / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012307:Risk Factors; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014739:Victoria / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult