53% OF PEOPLE ARRESTED UNDER THE INFLUENCE: STUDY

In a new study conducted in 26 communities across Canada, police reported
that more than half of the people arrested for criminal offenses were under
the influence of drugs or alcohol when the crimes were committed.

Among the 53% of those arrested, about one-third picked up for crimes such
as homicide, assault, break and enter, fraud and drug trafficking, were
judged by police officers to be under the influence of alcohol; 10% were
considered to be under the influence of drugs; and an additional 10% were
under the influence of both.

The study, commissioned by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police,
the RCMP and the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, is considered to be
the first empirical research that looks at estimating the proportion of
crimes attributable to the use or abuse of psychoactive substances such as
alcohol, cocaine, cannabis and heroin.

"What this study tells us it that drug strategy has to be put back on the
national agenda," said Barry King, chief of police in Brockville, Ont. "We
have [a strategy], but it is not visible and not well funded. For the last
five years, it has been a mute drug strategy. And we are not just talking
about enforcement or money for police officers.

"Something has to change," added Chief King, who is chairman of the Drug
Abuse Committee of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police. "We don't
want to be like the United States and have 60% or 70% of our prisons filled
with people with possession of drug [convictions]. That's not what we're
here for. We want to make sure we have the resources to spend on the people
who are doing the trafficking, the importing and the cultivating."

The study also found that, in the opinion of arresting officers, one-
quarter of those arrested were abusers of alcohol, 15% were abusers of one
or more illicit drugs and another 15% were abusers of both alcohol and
illicit drugs.

Among drug users, police said 34% had used cannabis and 34% reporting
taking cocaine.

About one-fifth of those arrested had committed a violent crime.

The research examined 2,765 arrests made in May, 2000, in communities with
populations over 100,000. High- and low-crime areas were tested. Arrestees
were asked to fill out questionnaires about usage and motivation to commit
crimes. Police officers also provided their own observations.