The relation of drug abuse,criminal activity,recidivism, and how it effects society

Summary

The speaker discusses the significant role of drug and alcohol abuse in criminal activity, highlighting its societal impacts, including financial costs, health risks, and recidivism. They explain how many offenders commit crimes to obtain drugs and explore the high relapse rates among those in treatment centers. The speaker emphasizes that addressing deeper issues like employment and social support is crucial to overcoming addiction. Drawing from personal experience, they advocate for treating individuals with care and support, encouraging society to engage with those struggling with addiction to foster hope and recovery.

Takeaways

• 😀 Drug abuse can lead to criminal activity, even if offenders are not under the influence when committing the crime.
• 🚨 About 24.2% of crimes committed by drug abusers are violent, including 30% as rapes or sexual assaults and 23.3% as robberies.
• 💵 The cost of drug abuse to society in the U.S. exceeds $820 billion annually, with costs related to healthcare, crime, and lost productivity.
• 📉 Drug abuse contributes to public health crises like the spread of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis, as well as domestic issues like homelessness and unemployment.
• 🏠 38% of the homeless in the U.S. are addicted to alcohol, while 26% are addicted to drugs.
• 🔄 Recidivism rates in the U.S. show that two-thirds of released prisoners are re-arrested within three years, and three-quarters are incarcerated within five years.
• 🏥 The recidivism rate in treatment centers is high, with 40-60% of individuals relapsing after treatment.
• ⏳ Short-term treatment centers, often lasting only 30 days, are insufficient for lasting recovery.
• 💼 Employment is a strong predictor of recovery success, but many drug abusers struggle to find work due to their criminal records and antisocial behavior.
• 🤝 Support systems, both inside and outside treatment centers, play a critical role in overcoming addiction. Personal treatment as an individual is essential for success.

Q & A

What are the two main reasons people use drugs, according to the speaker?

According to the speaker, people use drugs either to seek pleasure or to numb emotional or physical pain.

What percentage of crimes committed by drug abusers are considered violent crimes?

According to the data cited, 24.2% of the crimes committed by drug abusers are classified as crimes of violence.

How does the speaker describe the financial cost of drug abuse to society?

The speaker estimates that drug abuse costs society over $820 billion annually, impacting healthcare, crime rates, and lost productivity.

What are some of the societal impacts of drug abuse mentioned in the script?

The societal impacts of drug abuse include the spread of diseases like HIV/AIDS and hepatitis, homelessness, unemployment, domestic abuse, divorce, and crime.

What is recidivism, and how does it relate to drug abusers according to the speaker?

Recidivism refers to the tendency of individuals to relapse into criminal behavior or drug abuse after treatment or incarceration. The speaker states that a large percentage of inmates and treatment center patients relapse, continuing the cycle of drug abuse and crime.

What percentage of individuals relapse after treatment, according to the script?

According to the speaker, between 40% and 60% of individuals relapse after completing treatment.

Why does the speaker believe short-term treatment programs are often ineffective?

The speaker argues that most treatment programs, which last around 30 days, are too short for effective recovery. A longer recovery period is needed to address the deeper issues contributing to addiction.

What are the key factors the speaker identifies as contributors to relapse beyond substance abuse?

The speaker highlights factors such as difficulty finding employment due to a criminal record, antisocial behavior, isolation, and returning to a criminal lifestyle as key contributors to relapse.

How does the speaker suggest society can better support those struggling with addiction?

The speaker suggests that society should treat addicts as individuals, not just statistics. Providing committed support both inside and outside treatment facilities can help individuals recover and reintegrate into society.

What personal experience does the speaker share to illustrate their point about recovery?

The speaker shares their own experience of recovering from a 20-year drug addiction and incarceration. With committed support from a treatment facility, they were able to change their life and become a productive member of society.

Outlines

00:00

💊 The Role of Drug Abuse in Crime and Its Impact on Society

This paragraph discusses the significant role drug abuse plays in criminal activity, both directly and indirectly. It explores how offenders commit crimes to fund their drug habits, and presents statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Justice showing the correlation between drug use and violent crimes. Additionally, the paragraph highlights the broader societal impacts of drug abuse, including its contribution to a recidivism cycle and its immense financial burden on the U.S., estimated at over $820 billion annually.

05:01

🛑 Challenges in Treating Drug Addiction and Recidivism

This paragraph focuses on the challenges faced by drug addicts in treatment and the high recidivism rate. It outlines how many treatment centers offer short-term recovery programs, such as 30-day stays, which are insufficient for long-term recovery. It emphasizes that the biggest indicators of relapse are not solely substance abuse but also factors like unemployment and antisocial behavior. The paragraph concludes by examining how individuals, unable to break free from their past, often relapse due to lack of support and reintegration into their former lifestyle.

Keywords

💡Drug Abuse

Drug abuse refers to the habitual misuse of drugs, often resulting in addiction and negative consequences for the individual and society. In the video, drug abuse is discussed in terms of its connection to criminal activity, societal impact, and its high cost, both financially and in terms of public health.

💡Criminal Activity

Criminal activity involves actions that violate the law. In the video, the speaker highlights the relationship between drug abuse and crimes such as violence, theft, and assaults. Drug abusers often commit crimes to obtain money for drugs, and the script outlines statistics showing the percentage of violent crimes linked to drug abuse.

💡Recidivism

Recidivism is the tendency of a person to relapse into criminal behavior after having been previously punished or treated. The video addresses recidivism in both the prison and treatment center contexts, pointing out the high rates of relapse among individuals who have undergone treatment for drug abuse or been incarcerated.

💡Societal Cost

Societal cost refers to the broad, far-reaching financial and social impacts of drug abuse on society. The video discusses the $820 billion annual cost of drug abuse in the U.S., which includes healthcare costs, lost productivity, crime, and the wider effects on families and communities.

💡Treatment Centers

Treatment centers are facilities that provide medical and psychological care to individuals struggling with substance abuse. The video mentions that many treatment centers are short-term, typically lasting only 30 days, which is not sufficient for lasting recovery. This lack of extensive treatment contributes to high recidivism rates.

💡HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis

These are infectious diseases that can spread through needle sharing among drug users. The video mentions the public health impact of drug abuse, including the spread of diseases like HIV/AIDS and hepatitis, which further burden the healthcare system and contribute to societal costs.

💡Homelessness

Homelessness refers to the condition of lacking a stable and permanent place to live. The video points out that a significant percentage of the homeless population struggles with addiction, highlighting the connection between drug abuse, poverty, and homelessness.

💡Relapse

Relapse is when a person returns to substance abuse after a period of recovery. The video notes that the relapse rate for individuals after treatment is between 40% to 60%, and this is partly due to the inadequacy of short-term treatment programs.

💡Support Systems

Support systems refer to networks of individuals, such as family, friends, and healthcare providers, who help individuals recovering from addiction. The video emphasizes the importance of committed support, both inside and outside of treatment centers, as a crucial factor in overcoming addiction and avoiding recidivism.

💡Criminal Companions

Criminal companions are individuals with whom a person associates, who also engage in illegal activities. In the video, it is explained that people who have been through addiction and incarceration often return to these criminal companions, contributing to their likelihood of relapsing into criminal behavior and substance abuse.

Highlights

The speaker discusses the link between drug abuse and criminal activity, including crimes committed to obtain money for drugs.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, 24.2% of crimes committed by drug abusers are violent crimes.

The speaker mentions that 30% of drug-related crimes are rapes or sexual assaults, while 23.3% are robberies.

Drug abuse costs the U.S. an estimated $820 billion annually, impacting healthcare, crime, and productivity.

There are non-financial costs to society, including the spread of diseases like HIV, hepatitis, and the effects on unborn children.

The speaker states that 38% of the homeless population in the U.S. struggles with alcohol addiction, while 26% are addicted to drugs.

The concept of recidivism is discussed, focusing on individuals who repeatedly cycle through prison or treatment facilities due to drug addiction.

Within three years of release, two-thirds of inmates are re-arrested, and within five years, three-quarters of them return to prison.

In treatment centers, the recidivism rate is 40-60%, meaning many individuals relapse after completing a short-term treatment program.

Short-term recovery centers (e.g., 30 days) are criticized for not providing enough time for effective recovery.

The speaker emphasizes the importance of employment as a predictor of success after treatment, noting the difficulty of finding jobs with a criminal record.

Social isolation and returning to criminal companions are highlighted as factors that increase the likelihood of relapse.

The speaker argues that drug addiction is often a symptom of deeper issues such as social isolation and lack of support.

A clinical expert from Place of Hope in Columbia, Tennessee, explains that people often use drugs to either seek pleasure or numb pain.

The speaker shares a personal story of overcoming drug addiction with the support of a committed treatment center, highlighting the importance of individualized care.

Transcripts

are you ready

hey guys today I'm going to talk about

I'm going to talk about drug abuse and

the role that it plays with the with the

person abusing the drugs the criminal

activity related to it how it affects

society and the recidivism rate of drug

abuse as well and what we what we can do

about it now

sometimes drugs and alcohol they play a

role in criminal activity even when the

offender even when the offender is not

under the influence at the time the

crime is committed many offenders commit

crimes in order to get money to obtain

drugs the exotics exact extent of the

role that drugs and alcohol play in the

commission of crimes in the u.s. is

probably impossible to determine but

it's obviously significant according to

data from a variety of government

sources such as the US Bureau of Justice

Statistics which says that that twenty

four point two percent of the crimes

that drug abusers commit are crimes of

violence also thirty percent our rapes

or sexual assaults twenty three point

three percent of robberies 24.1% or

assaults twenty six point two percent or

aggravated assaults and twenty three

point five percent are perceived by the

victims to be under the influence when

they commit these crimes now I'm going

to talk about how to fix the society and

the cost of drugs used to society the

estimated cost of drug abuse in the u.s.

is more than around eight hundred and

twenty billion dollars a year and it's

continuing to grow the substance abuse

in the u.s. it calls society in

increased health care healthcare cost

crime and lost productivity other cost

of society it goes beyond financial cost

and this is throughout life for instance

the spread of HIV or AIDS or

hepatitis E when drug addict Sharon

Sharon Needles also best from overdose

the effects on unborn children in crime

unemployment domestic abuse divorce and

homelessness which according to a white

sand treatment study they said that 38

percent of our homeless or addicted

alcohol and 26 percent of the homeless

in the US are addicted to drugs and and

I understand that this this us as a

society this is certainly disturbing and

it and it upset it's upsetting because

all of our dollars are going to people

who are seeking help but it seems like

they don't want any help that we're

wanting to get them sober and we want

them to seek sobriety and we want them

to have sobriety so they can be

productive but nothing's happening and

what's really happening is that this

entails goes into a recidivism rate not

only in people being released Andrea

rested and going to prisons or back to

jails but also the recidivism rate in

the treatment centers and what

recidivism is it's like when somebody's

incarcerated or when when somebody here

is in a treatment facility and they get

out they end up going right back in and

the receive the recidivism rate in the

US according to Quran report dot org is

states that within three years of an

inmate of a prisoner getting out two

thirds of those inmates that are

released will be rested and within five

years of this this thing may get now

three fourths three out of four of them

will be redirected and incarcerated now

the dream Center for recovery and then a

studies we've done a study on the

recidivism rate in treatment

sinners and it's an it's estimated that

forty to sixty percent of individuals

relapse after treatment and this is the

this is the issue right here most

treatment centers are not extended stays

they're not throw long recovery sinners

they're they're uh just most of times

like thirty days and that's not an

extensive amount of time for somebody to

get treatment or recovery so the quality

of treatment that an addict receives is

widely considered to being the biggest

indicator for risk of recidivism but the

much stronger predictors of failure than

substance abuse are employment and and

this is where their background or their

past history they've struggled to be

able to find employment because of their

criminal record antisocial behavior we

thought the the people the drug addict

sees their self as insignificant in

society and can't find their place and

so they get standoffish isolate and go

back to what they're doing then you have

criminal companions and so when they do

that when they finally oscillate and

they don't feel like there's any support

anywhere else they go back to the people

that they know and the criminal needs

the criminal needs are like the

lifestyle they miss this lifestyle

they've they're trying to unlearn this

old way to learn a new way and all these

other factors are rolling in and so they

don't know how to live and so what I'm

getting at is that the issue really

isn't that really isn't the drugs the

real issues are being uncovered and what

stems from that is drug addiction drug

use drug problems society's problems as

well now Mike who he's a clinical

to replace a hope in Columbia Tennessee

he said that most people use drugs and

alcohol for two reasons one is because

they they won't pleasure they like the

feeling and it's a good feeling

and the other one is to take away the

pain to numb the pain I've heard him

saying Washington say that upon entering

a facility if somebody wants sobriety

they're there they're sober now let's

get to the issue at hand in places like

place of hope and there's some other

facilities in this country that are like

place of hope in Columbia Tennessee they

don't just go by statistics and that's

what most people feel like they are most

addicts that enter recovery centers or

or in or that are incarcerated they feel

like a statistic and they don't feel

like an individual and so and so they

see themselves as somebody being talked

about instead of being talked to and

that's what we need and I know it works

because I too used to be one of these

people I went through a went through a

treatment facility and I was treated as

an individual I had support I had

committed support not just inside of

there but also outside and they guided

me along the steps of my recovery as

they continue to guide me and it's been

several years now and if it wasn't for

them I wouldn't be able to sit here and

talk to you right now being being a

student at Columbia State when when I've

had when I've been incarcerated when

I've had a drug problem for 20 years

when I'm when I'm a felon when I had all

these things that were stacked up

against me and I come out of it and I

just continue to progress it's because I

have the support from from people that

are committed to help me out and you can

do the same thing so when you see these

people don't just talk about them talk

to because that's they may be you may be

that hope that these

people need to see in their life so

reach out to these people and these are

people that are homeless these are

people that are incarcerated these are

people that are in these treatment

centers these are these are people

struggling to find a ride to go get a

job to go look for a job these people

are all around in our community and they

need some help and we're the ones that

can help thank you for listening