ASSIGNMENT: CRITICALLY EXPLORE THE ISSUES IN REGARD TO SERVICE USERS WHO OFFEND WHILE EXPERIENCING DRUG AND/OR ALCOHOL PROBLEMS. ANALYSE AND DISCUSS THE KEY CONCERNS FOR SOCIAL WORKERS
‘FOLLOWING FACULTY CONFIDENTIALITY POLICY, I CONFIRM THAT I HAVE ANONYMIZED MY WORK SO THAT THE IDENTITY OF ANY AGENCY OR ORGANISATION AND THE IDENTITY OF ANY PEOPLE SUCH AS SERVICE USERS AND CARERS, COLLEAGUES AND MANAGERS ARE CLEARLY ANONYMOUS. I UNDERSTAND THAT FAILURE TO ADHERE TO THIS POLICY WILL RESULT IN SEVERE PENALTIES.’
This assignment will focus on the issues encountered in the society by service users with drug misuse problems who offend. It will look at the consequences and impact of crime on society, analysing the relationship between drug misuse and crime taking into account some of the sociological perspectives of crime. It will then go on to analyse and discuss the key concerns for social workers who deal with these particular group of service users. It will finally conclude by
There are a number of diverse factors that lead people to misuse drugs. These are a mixture of social, psychological and economic factors with age and gender also being statistically significant. People have been using drugs for a great deal longer than it has been considered a problem. Tammy Salah (2005) suggests that drug use has been prevalent since ancient times . However significant major changes have occured in the pattern of drug taking in the last four decades.
A number of reasons have been suggested for this change. Some have suggested that the increase in taking drugs for medicinal purposes altered people’s general attitude towards taking drugs. As they acquired the perception that a pill could cure physical problems and mental illness, they accepted the possibility that a pill could be used to counter other problems. Others advocated the idea that people in the 1960s and 1970s, particularly Americans, who were exploring new life-styles