Relationship between Drug Abuse and Crime in Jos North Local Government Area, Plateau State, Nigeria

Abstract

Globally, drug abuse and crime are among the most insurmountable and intractable social problems facing modern society in both rural and urban areas, and the discourse on the relationship between drug abuse and crime has been a topic of sustained interest to scholars and policy makers alike. This study investigated drug abuse and crime in Jos North Local Government Area, Plateau State, with the objective to find out if the two have a relationship, as well as how they are related. The study was a cross sectional survey. The multi-stage sampling technique was used to select locations and respondents for the study. Questionnaires, in-depth interview and focus group guides were used to collect quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data were collected from a sample of 384 respondents; twenty one in-depth interviews and sixteen focus group discussions were conducted for the research. The study revealed that there is strong relationship between drug abuse and crime in Jos North Local Government Area; drug abuse reinforces crime in the Local Government Area, and crime reinforces drugs abuse. This study concludes that drug abuse and crime in Jos North Local Government Area is a Siamese twins, therefore, to tackle the problem of crime the issue of drug abuse must be addressed, and vice versa.