8 . Drugs and property crime

During the late 1990s national rates of reported property and violent crime in Australia have been increasing (National Crime Statistics Unit 1997; Chilvers 1998; Cook & Leverett 1998), as have deaths from opioid overdoses. In 1996 there were 526 opioid-overdose fatalities, the majority of them involving males (Lynskey & Hall 1998). Alongside the overdose data a number of indicators from subgroups in the general population suggest that illicit drugs are more widely available and are more commonly used. These indicators are supported by anecdotal evidence from various sources within the criminal justice system (such as police, solicitors, and health care and correctional workers) and the media that illicit drug use is increasing and that this use is causally related to the general increase in crime. Many commentators claim that 80 per cent of crime is drug related; others are more specific and claim that 80 per cent of property crime is drug related.