Criminology

It has been revealed that a majority of offenses committed in the society is associated with substance abuse or have been carried out while under the influence of drugs. Hiller, Knight and Simpson (1999) discover that a large percentage of criminals were found positive for illicit drugs in their system after being subjected to urine screening. Hiller et al have however discovered that some prison-based rehabilitation programs have been introduced so as to reduce the rates of re-arrest and reconviction plus better parole results. Therefore there is a need to investigate whether these rehabilitation programs genuinely lead to a decrease in being arrested and convicted again for people who commit drug related offenses. This essay aims to evaluate the aspects related to rehabilitation programs in regards to offenses committed while under the influence.

Research Questions
The hypotheses that will be presented by the following objectives are relational because the aim is to establish the relationship between illicit drugs and the committing of crimes.
There is a relationship between the perpetration of crimes and the substance abuse.
A large percentage of felony convictions in state courts involve drug related offenses
Prison based programs are positively associated with reduction of rates of re-arrest and reconviction.
Internal treatment programs in prisons extend the length of time before one is arrested again especially when a parolee undertakes the residential community based aftercare.

Evaluation Site and the Subject to be studied
The program to be studied is the Ending Offending Program which according to the Queensland Correctional Services Fact Sheet (2009) is one that is culturally specific and it is intended for local offenders in Australia in order to aid them in dealing with aspects of their criminal tendencies that are related to alcohol abuse.

The program is a brief one that is focused on helping these local offenders to adjust their drinking and offending actions accordingly. Various culturally appropriate exercises will be carried out based on a cognitive behavioral model.

Evaluation Design
The evaluation design that has been chosen to carry out the study is secondary data analysis. The design intended is a quasi experimental design that will carry out a study according to what other researchers have come up with. The experimental group will be the individuals who commit offenses related to the abuse of drugs or any other intoxicants such as alcohol thus causing them to be arrested and convicted for the crimes they have committed.

The Ending Offending Program has stated various steps required by focusing on various key aspects
Identifying the effects of alcohol use on health, behavior and offending others in the community.
Identification of elements that act as triggers thus leading one to use alcohol and therefore finding a way to control them.

Development of methods that will be used in order to prevent a relapse from occurring and supervision of these people and help them establish positive lifestyle options.

The Fact Sheet for the Queensland Corrective Services (2009) explains that the Ending Offending Program is for people who have an outstanding need for treatment in relation to alcohol and are recognized as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders. It is also meant for people who have a score of less than16 in the ROR (Risk of Re-offending) scale.

Population and Sample
Perry (2003) investigates that 58 cases of hate crime perpetrators have been studied and 60 of them have been discovered to be related to a history of substance abuse and over 20 have had a history of psychiatric treatment. She has also related the use of drugs to violence within lesbian relationships in addition to a family history of violence, dependency issues and power inequalities. 

Bean (2003) carries out a study and asserts that drug use by young people in the adolescent to the young adulthood stage is more likely to persist over their life span more than participation in predatory crime. Future drug use is also predicted to be less likely to influence criminal behavior. In contrast, criminal behavior in the future is more likely to lead to drug use.

The problem with Perrys study is that she focuses on a very small portion of the population and one a specific type of crime. She focuses on the violence that occurs in a lesbian relationship as a form of hate crime. Hate crime does not account for all the crime that occurs within a country as there are various types of crime other than that category.

Beans study is supported by Chaiken and Chaiken (1990) who state that drug use and predatory crime are samples of behavior that coexist in certain social groups but in others, drug abuse and predatory criminality are not related.

Variables and Data Collection methods
In this study, various variables are going to be identified. They fall into the categories of independent and dependent variables.

The dependent variables involved are hate crimes such as the violence against lesbians in a relationship, predatory crimes such as robberies and burglaries, the percentage of criminals found with drugs in their system, the rate of re-arrest and re-conviction.

The independent variables found are the drugs used, the age of the drug useroffender, the personal income of the drug useroffender, the rehabilitation program, and psychological state of the drug useroffender.

The collection of data is to be done through the following methods use of the internet for research on this particular subject, interview of experts who are well versed on this particular field and sampling.

Conclusion
The Queensland Corrective Services Fact Sheet (2009) states that the Ending Offending Programs primary treatment targets are substance abuse awareness, lifestyle choices, relapse prevention and awareness of actions that are related to alcohol abuse. Drug use is related to certain crimes but not all of them thus they are not necessarily linked. A 60 rate of hate crime has been discovered in studies to be related to a history of drug abuse whereas 20  is related to a history of psychiatric treatment.