Criminal Justice Methodology
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Introduction
The most suitable method for this study will be a qualitative study, which will help
analyze the relationship between drugs and crime rates in the US. In this case, there will be a
case study on drug abuse rates in the US concerning crime rates. There will be the use of
recent research papers and statistics to determine whether drug abuse rates have impacted
crime rates in America. Since the previous works have demonstrated the trends in drug crime
rates and drug use, all sources used in this study will be recent to help identify the reality of
the situation regarding crimes and drugs in America. To test the relationship between the two
aspects, it is essential to obtain new data from 2017 to 2021 that will help demonstrate the
recent precise numbers of crime rates and drug abuse.
Statistics on Crime Rates in America
According to FBI data released today, after two years of rising, the country's
anticipated number of violent crimes declined by 0.2 percent in 2017 compared to 2016. For
the fifteenth year in a row, estimates of property crimes have decreased, with a 3.0 percent
decrease (FBI, 2018). According to 2017 data, there were 382.9 violent crimes estimated to
have occurred per 100,000 people, whereas there were 2,362.2 property crimes (UCR, 2017).
Compared to 2016, the violent crime rate dropped by 0.9%, while the property crime rate
dropped by 3.6% (FBI, 2018). These statistics aligned with the decrease in drug rates
recorded by National Survey on Drug Use and Health, suggesting that crime rates also
decreased even as drug consumption and abuse rates reduced (Editorial Staff, 2022).
Martínez-Martínez & Gil-Vasquez (2022) have identified that the war on drugs in several
areas in America, such as Mexico, has made the world a dangerous place and resulted in a lot
of public insecurity, which might put many people in harm (UNODC, 2019). Therefore, with
a decrease in drug consumption and access, there were also reduced crime rates,
imprisonments, and deaths.
Violent crime decreased by 3.3% in 2018 compared to 2017. Property crimes
decreased by 6.3 percent, continuing a trend for 16 years (Department of Justice, 2020).
According to the 2018 data, there were 368.9 violent crimes estimated per 100,000 people,
while there were 2,199.5 property crimes (FBI, 2019). Because most crime rates were
influenced by drug intake, such as rape, assault, and theft, all these crimes were seen to
reduce when drug consumption was reduced in 2018 in America (Stebbins, 2020). Compared
to 2017, the violent crime rate dropped by 3.9 percent, while the burglary rate dropped by 6.9
percent (FBI: UCR, 2019). The number of aggravated assault incidents decreased by 0.4
percent, murder and non-negligent manslaughter offenses were down by 6.2 percent, and
robbery offenses dropped by 12.0 percent (West, 2019). As evident in the National Survey on
Drug Use and Health, the increase in funds used to treat drug abuse problems, it is clear that
this strategy and policy may have been operational and influenced the reduced amounts of
drug crime rates (Arrow Passage, n.d.). The funding and institutions helped drug abusers to
heal, educating them on safety and good health (Gramlich, 2020). The decrease in drug use
and crimes was specific among the youths because of policy programs aimed towards the
youths to ensure they understand everything they need to know.
In 2019, some areas in America experienced reduced crime rates while others
experienced high crime rates, which have been linked to the political states of the areas. For
example, Philadelphia experienced high crime rates in 2019 compared to other areas in the
US (Grawert & Kimble, 2019). Compared to 2018, crime rates were also generally reduced;
for instance, burglary was reduced by 4.5%, while general violent crime was reduced by
1.0%. The percentage of drug use among adolescents also reduced, recording low violence
rates in schools and gatherings with teenagers and young adults (NIDA, 2021).
In 2020, the crime trends were slightly different from the past years because the year
recorded an increased crime rate (Macrotrends, 2022). According to news released by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the murder rate in the United States increased
30% between 2019 and 2020, the most considerable one-year increase in over a century
(GRAMLICH, 2021). The results match a different FBI calculation of the country's murder
rate released in September. The CDC examines data from death certificates to keep tabs on
killings (Gramlich, 2020). The FBI compiles data from thousands of law enforcement
organizations nationwide to tally the number of homicides (Statista Research Department,
2021). Despite using different approaches, both sites indicate that the US murder rate will
significantly increase during the epidemic year of 2020, even though the rate has historically
been much lower (UNODC, 2018). The increase in crime rates can be explained by drug use
in the same year. In the United States, 91,799 people died from drug overdoses in 2020
(CDC, 2021). Age-adjusted overdose mortality increased from 21.6 per 100,000 in 2019 to
31.6 per 100,000 in 2020. (28.3 per 100,000) (T, 2022). The leading cause of overdose deaths
is opioids, particularly synthetic opioids (other than methadone). Synthetic opioids were
implicated in 82.3 percent of overdose deaths involving opioids (ODPHP, 2020). 74.8 percent
of all drug overdose deaths in 2020, 68,630 were caused by opioid overdoses (Addiction
Center, n.d.). Both with and without synthetic opioids, drug overdose deaths involving
psychostimulants like methamphetamine are rising.
Crime rates in 2021 were also recorded to have increased more than in 2020, which
made many people worried about the condition of the US (SGANGA, 2022). The analysis,
which used crime statistics from a sample of 22 cities, revealed that the number of murders in
2021 was 44 percent higher than in 2019, or 1,298 more deaths (FBI, 2022), and 5 percent
higher than in 2020, representing 218 more murders in those cities (Duffin, 2021). In 2021,
the overdose rates also increased by half more than they had increased in 2020, which caused
more crime rates and death rates (NCHS, n.d.). in this case, the progress in reducing crimes
had gone back by a far range, and drug consumption was once again at a high rate.
Results
This research demonstrated that crime rates have been reducing significantly
compared to the 20th century. Research on the relationship between drug abuse and crime
rates also showed that numerous people who caused violence to others were believed to be
under the influence of drugs (Shafir, 2022). 41% of violence in American colleges was
believed to be caused by attackers who were under the influence of drugs (NCDAS, n.d.).
Therefore, looking at the drug abuse rates and crime rates in the US, it is clear that a
reduction in the number of drug use has influenced reduced crime rates (BSJ, 2021). This is
also a result of increased medical institutions that have helped heal drug users and educate
other people against drug abuse and drug use (Kalvarado, 2021). It is also clear that with
reduced access to illegal drugs, America has managed to minimize the crime rates and has
reduced the number of arrests and deaths.
However, some of the results in 2017 did not align with drug consumption in
adolescence. Figure 1 shows a sharp increase in drug consumption in 2017, which is different
from crime rates in 2017, which was generally recorded to reduce.
Figure 1: Illicit Drug Abuse among US Adolescence and Students, by NIDA (2021)
The slight increase in drug consumption was evident in 2020 and 2021, where drug
use rates were recorded more than in the previous years combined. This also aligned with the
increase in crime rates, showing the alignment of both problems and how the strategies that
were under work to control drug supply and consumption eventually failed. Significant cities
continue to have a big problem in terms of controlling crime rates and drug use and supply
because they all contribute to the downfall of the state and cities (UNDCP, n.d.), making it
hard to maintain an excellent economic rate because of reduced productivity (US Department
of Justice, n.d.). The drug crime rates have also caused a severe burden on the criminal justice
system.
Discussion and Conclusions
In as much as the general statistics for the last two and a half decades shows a
significant decrease in crime rates and drug use, the recent statistics showed that the crime
rates for the last two years had significantly increased. A study of some 22 cities in the US
shows that the crime rates in the last few years have dramatically decreased, causing a high
risk to people's lives (World Population Review, 2022). This research identified that years
that recorded high drug use and supply also recorded increased crime rates, showing a
significant relationship between drug use and supply and crime rates. In this case, if drug
supply and consumption increase, then it is expected that the crime rates will be high.
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