Implications of Illegal Drugs - Essay Example

?Analytic Source Review and Evaluation Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Discussion 3 Illicit Drugs 3 Sexual Assaults 6 Conclusion8 References 9 Introduction Implications of illegal drugs and sexual assaults are most commonly featured as the growing rate of criminal offences and security risks in the present era. The global statistical data regarding these parameters reflects that the problem arises especially for three major reasons. The reasons include limited knowledge regarding social responsibilities towards avoiding the conduct of such offences, negative impacts of the peer groups and lack of guidance or negligence by parents. The methodical studies conducted over the last decades regarding the addiction of drugs among the young people, revealed that after a certain period an individual cannot afford the price and gradually gets involved in criminal activities to increase their affordability. In majority instances, such consequences were found to be led by the negligence of parents, guardians or the other members of the society towards the young people. These activities not only hinder the healthy growth of the society, but also restrict social progress in terms of economic divergences, education prospects and governance systems. The objective of the paper will thereby be focused on analysing and evaluating the criminal activities associated with illegal drugs as well as sexual assaults in the modern day context. Discussion Illicit Drugs Illicit drugs habit is often regarded as the major cause of interpersonal violence as well as public health challenges in the modern society. With this concern, the National Drug Intelligence Centre (NDIC) along with many other non-profit organizations have taken initiative and organized a yearly National Drug Threat Assessment (NDTA) that tends to assess the impact of threats related to illicit drug related crimes on the society as well as on the nation at large. Recent reports in this regard revealed that the total cost incurred in relation to illicit drug use was approximated in excess of $193 billion in the year 2007. The cost was estimated focusing on three major principal areas i.e. crime, health and aggregate productivity of the state or region. The component of crime cost is fundamentally based on three major factors that include criminal justice system costs, crime victim costs as well as other crime costs. In addition, health related issues and costs include four major components i.e. emergency departmental costs in the hospitals for homicide and non-homicide cases, speciality treatment and medicine costs, insurance administration costs and other health related costs. Nonetheless, the productivity costs and issues are also associated with some direct and indirect components such as labour participation costs, pre-mature mortality costs and the costs incurred due to harm of education as well as lack of societal growth (U.S. Department of Justice, 2011). When considering the global trend, people addicted by illegal drugs and related crimes in England and Wales were reported to constitute around three million adults in the year 2011-2012. This proportionate was further affirmed to account for around 8.9% of the total population in England. Another significant attribute of the trend exhibited that in majority cases, the offenders were young where minors aged 16 years to old aged people of 59 years were also identified involved in such crimes (The Independent, 2012). According to the research study of Payne-James & et. al. (2005), it was found that the drug addiction is especially notices among the unemployed persons. Consequentially, 80% drug habituates have been reported to be spending their life suffering from several mental as well as physical health issues. At the onset, mental and financial problems can be identified as the main causes of such offences which might be caused due to social complexities or monetary troubles often faced by young generation people (Payne-James & et. al., 2005). Besides, as exhibited by Payne-James & et. al. (2005), the research report of British crime survey 2007-08, it was observed that the 19% anti social activities of the society are associated with illegal drug habits. This further illustrates the severity of such offenses in the modern society. From an in-depth understanding, it was revealed the vital factors which motivate young people to get involved in such crimes are quarrel among family members, poor health, declining employability, child or parent negligence as well as stress. As these factors exist in the rudiments of a social construction and are quite demanding to be identified as well as treated at the base, administrators believe that generating adequate awareness is the most essential step that can be taken in order to control crimes related to illicit drug. Providing low cost medication and psychological treatments is also highly required to support the young people to return to their main stream of life (Public Health England, 2012). Recognising the underlying threats of illicit drug related crimes, the government in the UK have been focused on implementing strict judicial rules and regulations over the society which not only attempts to generate awareness among the parents and the children regarding their responsibilities toward the society but also imposes rigid norms to punish the offenders. There are also few norms enacted within the UK society which focuses on successfully implementing the rehabilitation treatment process to support the recovery of the individuals from their dependency on drugs. In this context, the ACMD and HS of England together enacted the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 to control and classify the drugs related crimes within the society (Government of United Kingdom, 2012). It can be apparently observed with reference to the above critical review that the crimes associated with illicit drug abuse range from homicides to sexual assaults and even smaller crimes like burglary which altogether threatens the progress of the overall society (World Health Organisation, 2009). Thus, it can be affirmed that only with gaining control on illicit drug abuse, the security department of the society shall be able to move a step ahead in minimising various types of crimes within the society and thereby ensuring safety to the highest possible limit. Sexual Assaults Criminal offences in relation to sexual assaults are also emerging as a major issue for the entire world irrespective of the countries being developed or developing. Similar to the causes of illicit drugs purchase, the underlying factors for sexual assaults can also be identified as inherent in the social structure. Recent reports have therefore revealed that there are several reasons to boost the conduct of such criminal offences. Denial is often perceived to be a major cause of sexual assault. In major instances, such causes motivate young people to commit sexual assault. It has often been reported that denial often motivates a person to commit anger rape, power rape or sadistic rape and therefore must be considered with due significance (Schneider & Wright, 2004). Most of the sexual offences among adolescents are commonly reported to occur due to their irrational behaviour. Age and knowledge can be identified as the preliminary and vital causes underlying this type of offences. Addiction to alcohol and loss of personal control when under the influence of drug may also stimulate one’s intention to commit sexual assault related offences. An assortment of cultural factors in terms of society, education, status is also coherently related in causing this type of crime. It often happens that people are segregated from a group or are insulted owing to their cultural diversity which further increases their rage to commit such offences. Again, criminal reports have also revealed that in order to seclude a particular person from the group, sexual offences are often used as a tool; mostly by majority ethnic group on the minority group people (Katsavdakis, n.d.). It is often observed that victims to sexual assaults are either children or young females; although the rate of same-sex sexual assaults and male victims are also increasing in the modern scenario. Common effects of sexual assaults can be identified in both psychological and physical terms. It not only hinders the normal growth of children who have been victim to sexual assault, but also increases their risk of getting involved in antisocial activities being secluded from the main stream society (Katsavdakis, n.d.). As one crime is often found to be linked with several other types of crimes, it is quite necessary to implement several prevention strategies and programs to reduce the sexual violence and thus develop a healthier society. The first and foremost consideration in this regard has been rendered towards generating adequate awareness regarding such criminal offences, the underlying causing factors and the aftermaths, both for the victims and the offenders as the UK legislation. It is worth mentioning in this context that parents should take initiatives to guide their children properly which shall not only help to develop culture among their children, but also generate awareness among them from a very young age to avoid such intentions or at least to protect themselves from similar occurrences to a certain extent. Besides, the strategy for developing friendly relationship with the family members, positive adults and peers might also prove helpful to reduce the involvement of individuals in this type of crime in the society. It is worth mentioning in this context that various laws and regulations have been implemented to implement prohibit and discourage sexual assault related crimes in the society (Legislation, 2003). Irrespective of such measures, the rate of sexual offences has been recorded to increase which apparently depicts the lack of awareness within the society regarding such matters. Thus, it should be a priority concern to develop awareness among the social participants to restrict such criminal offences at the rudiments of the society. Conclusion With reference to the overall analysis regarding the crimes related to illicit drugs abuse and sexual offences, it can be observed that the underlying factors commonly involve social aspects in respect of cultural diversity, gender biases, family structure, social harmony and other similar attributes.. Lack of adequate sense of responsibility and the underlying legislative enactments against such offences can also be affirmed as a major cause to motivate such offences within the modern society. Contextually, it is quite necessary to implement certain measures which shall generate awareness and impose strict measures against the offenders of such crimes. Also, adequate support must be rendered to the victims of these offences who are often identified to be secluded from their mainstream life. References Government of United Kingdom, 2012. Preventing Young People from Becoming Drug Misuses. Reducing Drugs Misuse and Dependence. [Online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/reducing-drugs-misuse-and-dependence [Accessed July 04, 2013]. Katsavdakis, K. A., No Date. Classification: Not All People Who Commit Sexual Offenses. Center for Community Alternatives, pp. 1-10. Legislation, 2003. Sexual Offences Act 2003. Home. [Online] Available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/42/contents [Accessed July 04, 2013]. Payne-James, J. J. & et. at., 2005. Patterns of Illicit Drug Use of Prisoners in Police Custody in London, UK. Article. [Online] Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1353113105000970 [Accessed July 04, 2013]. Public Health England, 2012. Dependent Drug Users. Drug Treatment in England: the Road to Recovery. [Online] Available at: http://www.nta.nhs.uk/uploads/dtie2012v1.pdf [Accessed July 04, 2013]. Schneider, S. L. & Wright, P. C., 2004. Understanding Denial in Sexual Offenders: A Review of Cognitive and Motivational Processes to Avoid Responsibility. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 3-20. The Independent, 2012. Illegal Drug Use at Its Lowest Level. News. [Online] Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/illegal-drug-use-at-its-lowest-level-8182644.html [Accessed July 04, 2013]. U.S. Department Of Justice, 2011. The Impact of Illicit Drug Use on Crime. The Economic Impact of Illicit Drug Use on American Society. [Online] Available at: http://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/pubs44/44731/44731p.pdf [Accessed July 04, 2013]. World Health Organisation, 2009. Magnitude of Drug-Related Interpersonal Violence. Interpersonal Violence and Illicit Drugs. [Online] Available at: http://www.who.int/violenceprevention/interpersonal_violence_and_illicit_drug_use.pdf [Accessed July 04, 2013]. Read More