Patterns of acquisitive crime during methadone maintenance treatment among patients eligible for heroin assisted treatment

van der Zanden, Bart P.; Dijkgraaf, Marcel G.W.; Blanken, Peter; van Ree, Jan M.; van den Brink, Wim

doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2006.05.021

« Previous Next »Drug and Alcohol Dependence
Volume 86, Issue 1 , Pages 84-90, 5 January 2007

Patterns of acquisitive crime during methadone maintenance treatment among patients eligible for heroin assisted treatment

Bart P. van der Zanden
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 15, Room J1B-226, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +31 20 5668975; fax: +31 20 6912683.
Marcel G.W. Dijkgraaf
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 15, Room J1B-226, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Peter Blanken
- Central Committee on the Treatment of Heroin Addicts (CCBH), Utrecht, The Netherlands
Jan M. van Ree
- Central Committee on the Treatment of Heroin Addicts (CCBH), Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology and Anatomy, University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Wim van den Brink
- Central Committee on the Treatment of Heroin Addicts (CCBH), Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Received 28 February 2006; received in revised form 16 May 2006; accepted 24 May 2006.

Abstract

Objective

To determine the patterns of acquisitive crime during methadone maintenance treatment among chronic, treatment-resistant heroin users eligible for heroin assisted treatment in the Netherlands.

Methods

We retrospectively assessed the type and number of illegal activities during 1 month of standard methadone maintenance treatment in 51 patients prior to the start of heroin assisted treatment. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview focussed on crime with special emphasis on property crime. Volume analyses consisted of frequencies and descriptives of mean numbers of offences per day and per type.

Results

In a Dutch population of problematic drug users eligible for and prior to commencing heroin assisted treatment, 70% reported criminal activities and 50% reported acquisitive crimes. Offending took place on 20.5 days per month with on average 3.1 offences a day. Acquisitive crime consisted mainly of shoplifting (mean 12.8 days, 2.2 times/day) and theft of bicycles (mean 5.8 days, 2.4 times/day); theft from a vehicle and burglaries were committed less frequently. The majority of these patients (63%) reported to have started offending in order to acquire illicit drugs and alcohol.

Conclusion

During methadone maintenance treatment, 50% of criminally active, problematic heroin users eligible for heroin assisted treatment reported acquisitive crime. Shoplifting, thefts and/or other property crimes were committed on average two to three times on a crime day. This study discusses that the detail provided by self-reported crime data can improve cost estimates in economic evaluations of heroin assisted treatment.

Keywords: Methadone maintenance treatment, Heroin dependence, Crime, Netherlands