Deceptive Media

[Guest billy bonger]

I have a big problem with media generalizing so much on Tv News & Papers, "Study links Amphetamines and Crime" is what that should have been intitled as that is the only types of drug mentioned.I read half the artical before i realized it that was what it was about!

 

 

STUDY LINK DRUGS AND CRIME WHAT A BULLSHIT TITLE

 

 

NEWS > STORY

 

 

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Study links drugs and crime

December 19, 2003

 

RESEARCH has confirmed what police have long suspected - most people who are arrested have mental problems and are active drug users.

 

A study of 288 people arrested and brought to the Brisbane police watchhouse over a five-week period this year found 86 per cent of them had a substance abuse problem, compared with only seven per cent in the general population.

 

University of Queensland's head of the Department of Psychiatry, Associate Professor Gerard Byrne, supervised the study, which was published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

 

Prof Byrne said studies had been carried out in Australian jails and psychiatric hospitals but there had been no formal research in watchhouses on the role of drugs in crime and mental illness.

 

"The reason the study was done was because the police and the mental health services were aware there was likely to be a strong connection between these... things and they were interested in setting up a service to help these people," he said.

 

 

"The extraordinary thing was the very, very high levels of people who were dependent upon or abusing drugs and the very high level of amphetamine abuse and dependence, particularly in women."

 

Of the women, 59 per cent arrested had been taking amphetamines, compared with 43 per cent of men.

 

Women arrested also showed a high level of mental illness or psychiatric "caseness" - the cut-off point used to assess whether or not someone is likely to need psychiatric treatment.

 

"A total of 93.9 per cent of women met the criterion for caseness," Prof Byrne said.

 

The study found many of those arrested had psychiatric problems caused by drug use but some may have been using drugs to try to ease their anxiety or depression.

 

A mental health service has been set up at the Brisbane watchhouse.

 

AAP

[Spurious]

Women arrested also showed a high level of mental illness or psychiatric "caseness" - the cut-off point used to assess whether or not someone is likely to need psychiatric treatment.

 

"A total of 93.9 per cent of women met the criterion for caseness," Prof Byrne said.

 

 

<tic>Doesn't that statistic correlate with all women ?</tic>

[Guest billy bonger]

[Spurious]

Thanks for the level of understanding, Billy, and yes, I totally agree with your point. The media is usually written by idiots for idiots. And writes its own rights.

[Tom]

Stories are written to sell advertising, the whole of the truth is not all that essential for that purpose, it's not sensational enough.

[white_cluster]

Wow, people who commit the illegal activity of taking drugs are more likely to be arrested than people who dont. who would've ever thought??

 

and people with mental disorders are more likely to take drugs, wow, another revelation.

 

In my research I've found that Armed Robbers are more likely to be arrested than people who do not commit armed robberies.