Analysis of Drug-Alcohol Crime Nexus: A Case Study in Ghana

Background Crimes recorded by law enforcement agencies may be directly or indirectly related to drugs. There is growing concern about the increasing illicit drug use in Ghana, especially among younger people, which is perceived by many as contributing to the increase in criminal activities. The main objective of this research is to explore the role of illicit drugs and alcohol use in relation to crime among prison inmates. The study was carried out at the Kumasi Central Prison to investigate drug use among inmates through empirical interviews and drug tests. A semi-structured interview questionnaire was used to collect qualitative and quantitative demographic data from the prison inmates and the police officers. The inmates were tested for illicit drug use by rapid immune assay test and High performance liquid chromatography. Results The study revealed that the majority of the inmates had used one type of illicit substance or the other, even though only 6% of the inmates tested positive for cannabis. About 40% of respondents were incarcerated as a result of drug related crimes. 85% of persons previously arrested for drug crimes still had their current incarceration resulting from drugs. 82% of the respondents admitted that illicit substance use had both behavioural and psychological effects on the user and influenced crime commission. Conclusions Illicit substance use has a strong correlation to criminal activities. State institutions should prioritise the rehabilitation of drug convicts in order to minimise the reoccurrence of crimes. It is recommended that steps be taken to reduce the continuous traffic of drugs into prisons.