Drugs Sex, And Crime - Empirical Contributions

The relationship between alcohol or illegal drug use and criminal activity is recognized as a serious social problem around the world and has been widely researched worldwide. Even though there is no direct association between them, it can be suggested that consuming large quantities of alcoholic beverages, for instance, is directly related to violent crimes. However, other criminogenic factors must always be taken into consideration. Alcohol, illegal drugs and crime may also be linked through shared complicating factors such as personality issues and social disadvantages. The Brazilian penal system does not punish individuals who, at the time of their crime, did not have the capacity to understand the unlawfulness of their actions or to behave in accordance with this understanding. Voluntary or culpable drunkenness does not exclude impunity, except in cases in which drunkenness is accidental or is caused by force majeure. Psychiatrists are often called into court to give testimony and offer opinions on the mental state of criminals who have committed crimes under the influence of alcohol and other drug use. They evaluate the need for civil intervention in cases in which the psychiatric and neurological consequences of alcoholic consumption impair the civic duties or work capacity of individuals who drink, for instance. In all these cases, it is imperative that the psychiatrist should have ample knowledge of the penal codes and the detrimental effects of alcohol abuse. Recognition of the different criminological aspects of the genesis of crime is an essential subject within clinical and forensic contexts. Other than knowledge of the laws and penal codes, an integrated understanding of the diverse aspects of criminology is also necessary, given that crime is a multifactorial and complex phenomenon. This frequently impedes establishing a direct association between crime, alcohol and illegal drug use.

According to The First Brazilian Household Survey of Patterns of Alcohol Use, 52% of the 18 years age or older Brazilians drunk at least once in a year, and 60% of males and 33% of females, drunk 5 or more drinks for occasion in the preceding year. Binge drink once in the last year was reported by 28% of the sample and alcohol abuse had a prevalence of 3%. Alcohol dependence ranged from 9% in the over mentioned study to 12.3%, in the Second Household Survey on Drug Abuse, with male prevalence almost three times bigger than female. The latest study, carried out in 2005, showed a prevalence of tobacco lifetime, last year and last month use of 44%, 19.2% and 18.4%, respectively, with quite over 10% of tobacco dependents. Cannabis was the largest lifetime illicit drug used and the rates of last year use of cannabis and cocaine increased between 2001 and 2005 (from 1.0% to 2.6%, and from 0.4% to 0.7%, respectively). Cannabis dependence was found in 1.2% of the sample, mainly among males, and close to 6% at those aged 18-24. In a study performed among street children, last month tobacco cigarette use was the most reported, followed by alcohol, inhalants and cannabis. Data from elementary and high school students reported that the most often drug used among them was alcohol and inhalants. Undergraduate college student surveys pointed towards a significant increasing in both lifetime and last 30 days of cannabis, inhalants and any illicit drug. The First Household Study on Drug Abuse revealed that males had a higher prevalence than females for exposure to situations of physical risk under the influence of alcohol or afterwards, from drink-related personal problems, and from more frequent use or larger quantities of alcohol than intended. Reporting on fights and sexual relation under the influence of alcohol was found in a quarter of the public high school students and in a third of the private high school students from the state of São Paulo. Among urban Brazilian population, history of sexual abuse was a risk factor for drug abuse and regular alcohol use. Leisure activities and absence of religious practice were related to drug use. Injection drug use of cocaine is declining in Brazil, in exchange of increased crack consumption. Driving under the influence of alcohol showed an overall prevalence of 34.7% (42.5% among males and 9.2% among females).

Some studies indicate that drug misuse is significantly more frequent among sex offenders against adults than among those against children. Data suggest that the inappropriate consumption of drugs, mainly cannabis and cocaine, can be one of the factors that differentiate sex offenders who prey on children from those who prey on adults. In addition, children molesters usually demonstrate higher alcohol problems than those offenders against adults.This chapter provides some findings related to adult sexual offenders in Brazil, with respect to the alcohol and drug problems and impulsiveness levels. Unfortunately, research on sex offenders is still in its infancy in Brazil, but our knowledge about this population has increased in the last two decades.

Studies on adult sexual aggressors have continuously demonstrated that the majority admit the onset of some form of sexual offending before 18 years of age. Although alcohol and drug abuse has been frequently associated with violent crimes in general, studies on alcohol and drug problems among adolescent sexual offenders have been seriously neglected. In truth, juvenile sexual offenders are a heterogeneous population, and some of them demonstrate profile characteristics similar to other nonsexual violent offenders. Research has shown that many adolescents who commit sexual crimes also perpetrate nonsexual offenses; thus, to draw a complete distinction between sexual aggressors and nonsexual offenders is a difficult task. In fact, the criminal versatility should be taken into account when sexual offenders in general are evaluated and treated. This study evaluates the alcohol and drug consumption, the impulsiveness levels and the dimensional aspects of personality between adolescent sexual aggressors who offended children and those who offended adults. Also, it verifies possible distinguishing psychological characteristics between those offenders who adhered or not to our treatment programme. The study was carried out by the Ambulatory for the Treatment of Sexual Disorder of ABC Medical School (ABSex). The offenders against adults showed more alcohol and drug problems than the group who offended children. In addition, the sexual offending behavior of the aggressors against adults showed to be one more facet of the opportunistic exploitation of others. Offenders against children revealed significantly fewer mean scores on “persistence” than aggressors against adults. Furthermore, there seems to be some different personality characteristics between the juvenile sexual offenders who adhere to the treatment in comparison with those that do not, mainly in terms of reward dependence and novelty seeking.

Introduction: In spite of the heterogeneity among children molesters, some research has investigated these offenders based on the presence or absence of the diagnosis of pedophilia. The purpose of a distinction between these groups (with and without pedophilia) is to establish a more accurate prognosis and an effective treatment. Method: This study examined a sample of 143 children molesters serving a sentence in a Penitentiary in São Paulo State, Brazil. Pedophilic children molesters were defined in two ways: (1) those offenders who acknowledged to the study interviewer that they were primarily sexually interested in children; and (2) those offenders against children who did not admit this recurrent sexual interest, but had high scores on the Screening Scale for Pedophilic Interest (SSPI). Both groups were compared with relation to impulsiveness, sexual addiction, severity of alcohol and drug use and recidivism risk. Results: Children molesters showed higher impulsiveness levels, were more commonly single, revealed more frequent history of sexual abuse in childhood and offended a greater number of victims than nonpedophilic children molesters. Furthermore, the offense against any male victim was more reliably related to pedophiles. Discussion: Differences between pedophilic and nonpedophilic children molesters do not consist of anecdotal evidence, but imply the dire necessity of individualized medical and legal approaches. When an individual meets diagnostic criteria for pedophilia, he must be treated accordingly. This paper discusses the issues related to the adequate treatment of pedophiles in Brazil.

Introduction: Substance misuse is strongly correlated with criminal offending and several studies have shown that many incarcerated women meet lifetime criteria for alcohol, drug, and other mental health disorders. This study aims to identify distinctive clinical, social and criminological features of female inmates who committed homicide or robbery. Methods: It was a retrospective and cross-sectional study carried out inside a Feminine Penitentiary in São Paulo, Brazil. From July 2006 to July 2008, 88 inmates convicted of homicide and 94 convicted of robbery were evaluated with reference to alcohol and drug misuse, impulsiveness, depressive symptoms, and their juridical reports were reviewed. Results: Female inmates convicted only of homicide have shown better pre-morbid adjustment (socioeconomic status, employment), and better behavioral profile (fewer previous criminal records, less substance abuse) than inmates condemned only for robbery. An earlier beginning of criminal activities and higher scores on drug misuse have been verified in female robbers. Discussion: Substance misuse and the age of the beginning of criminal activities can be factors that set apart female inmates who committed homicide from those who perpetrated robbery. These differences may generate more specific management proposals for each group of female inmates.

Prostitution is an exchange of sex for money or other favors and the male prostitute is a biological man who practices prostitution. Researchers have been dividing them into Male Sex Workers (MSWs) with or without Gender Identity Disorders (GID). Typological studies that evaluate the differences between both groups can help researchers develop effective management proposals for this complex population, but this type of study is very scarce. MSWs represent a high risk population for sexually transmitted diseases (STD), showing a high prevalence of alcohol and drug use and unsafe sexual practices. Furthermore, they show some specific characteristics, such as low educational level, history of leaving home and dropping out of school, poor life support and history of violence. Illegal activities are common, even before prostitution begins and many MSWs have been arrested, mainly the street workers. There are few studies about MSWs and a structural understanding of them is required. In this text, we present a literature revision and the initial data of our study that has evaluated the use of licit and illicit drugs, depression symptoms, impulsiveness, dimensional personality aspects and criminal history among male prostitutes.

The killing of fathers and mothers, particularly by juveniles, always generates national concern. In the same way, filicide is a tragic form of violence with a shocking frequency in different cultures worldwide. Brazilian studies on these subjects are very scarce, although several cases of family violence have been reported by the communication means. Also, despite the interest in these topics, most of the scholarly works have been limited to analyses involving clinical samples with a few participants. Certainly, this harms an adequate development of proposals for prevention and management of family crimes. In addition, the recording of official statistics tends to be unreliable and the range of data recorded limited. The aim of this chapter is to review some aspects of parricides and filicides, including the role of alcohol and drug misuse among perpetrators.

The commission of rape by an AIDS sufferer is considered a severe bodily injury. In fact, sexual acts without consent increase the risk of STD/HIV infection and the rates of infection are associated with injuries on sexual organs due to the act and to non-condom use. Research has shown that the use of alcohol and other drugs before or during sexual act increases the risk of unprotected sex, multiple partners, unwanted sex, group sex practices, anal sex practice, oral and/or vaginal non-protected sex with fixed partners and not allowed sex practice. Therefore, the relationship between sexual offending and alcohol / drug consumption should better be focused upon.

Statistics are not yet available on the rates of HIV transmission during rape and other sexual offences, in part because the prevalence of HIV amongst sexual offenders is unknown. Despite this, given that the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the prison population is about five times that in the general population, treatment efforts with all prisoners, and perhaps most particularly with sex offenders, needs to ensure that risk reduction to the public includes addressing HIV infection reduction. Also, victims must be promptly evaluated and, in some cases, start chemoprophylaxis treatment.

Substance abuse is a significant problem in over half of jail and prison inmates. Despite this, adequate treatment programmes are not available for them, which represents a serious health public problem in Brazil.

Although incarceration is sometimes seen by many as an important opportunity to capitalize on periods of emotional crisis and to promote major lifetime change, correctional systems have no traditionally provided attention to the substance abuse needs of incarcerated offenders.

Certainly, there are several challenges in developing correctional substance misuse treatment services inside prisons. Some correctional and treatment staff consider that drug abusers present a “moral weakeness” rather than a illness or a biobehavioral disorder. Thus, the treatment can be seen as ineffective or merely delaying inmates’ return to drugs and crime. Anyway, treatment for substance dependence can be effective, and when it is it commonly reduces any offending also. The programmes need to be long-term and require changes in offenders’ thinking and lifestyle.

This chapter aims to comment on some aspects associated with the treatment programmes available in our country. It is unfortunate that many people believe that punishment is expected to rehabilitate all types of prisoners. The slogan “the more severe the punishment, the more effective it will be” is frequently mentioned by different professionals and lay people. Despite this, prisons should be used to rehabilitate criminals and set them up for a new life with an improved education, job and social skills and a new outlook, whenever possible.

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