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YOUNG PEOPLE AND CRIME IN SCOTLAND: FINDINGS FROM THE 2000 SCOTTISH CRIME SURVEY

CHAPTER SIX: YOUNG PEOPLE AND ILLEGAL DRUGS

The final issue addressed within the young person's survey was knowledge of illegal drugs and attitudes about their use ³⁷.

KNOWLEDGE OF ILLEGAL DRUGS

Respondents were asked which of a range of illegal drugs they had heard of. From this it seems that knowledge of illegal drugs was generally high. As Figure 6.1 shows, the most commonly heard of drug was cannabis (92%) followed by heroin (89%) and cocaine (89%). Only 6% of respondents reported not having heard of any listed drug ³⁸.

Figure 6.1: Percentage of Young People who had heard of Types of Illegal Drugs

Table 6.1 outlines responses from young people about the information about illegal drugs they were provided with by their schools. Only 5% of young people said they had not received any information about drugs from school. The most common source of information about drugs was a talk from a teacher/head-teacher, followed by leaflets or a talk from a police officer. Those aged 14-15 years were more likely than those aged 12-13 years to have received information in the form of leaflets or a talk from a teacher/headteacher. Twelve to thirteen year olds were more likely to have been given a talk by a police officer, possibly reflecting a current approach to providing drug information to young people.

Table 6.1: Proportion of Young People who had Received Information about Illegal Drugs at School

In contrast to the 1996 SCS, when those in social class E were least likely to have received information from any listed sources ³⁹, responses from the 2000 SCS showed a lack of information being provided to young people in social classes A and B. Young people from these classes were least likely, though not significantly, to receive information from all listed sources except talks from a police officer or a doctor/nurse. They were also most likely to state they had received no information (12%) compared to respondents in social classes C1/C2 (4%) or D/E (3%) ⁴⁰.

Only half (55%) of respondents stated that their school gave them enough information about illegal drugs. Thirty-three per cent stated that their schools should provide a little more information and 12% said they should give a lot more information. Females were less likely to be satisfied with the level of information they received, 50% stating they were given enough information compared to 61% of males.

Overall however, when compared to previous surveys, it appears that young people are becoming more content with the level of information on illegal drugs provided by their schools. The percentage of young people stating they received enough information has increased from 39% and 38% in 1993 and 1996 respectively to 55% in 2000.

Table 6.2 shows how much young people have learnt about drugs from a range of sources. Teachers were the most frequently cited source of information about illegal drugs, with 57% stating they had learned a lot and 37% stating they had learned a little from them. A sizeable proportion of the sample said they had learned a lot or a little from police officers, TV programmes and parents.

Table 6.2: How much Young People Learned about Illegal Drugs from Specified Sources

ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE USE OF ILLEGAL DRUGS

A range of questions were asked relating to how drugs were perceived by young people. As Table 6.3 shows, most young people feel very strongly that 'injecting drugs is very dangerous' and that 'taking an illegal drug once' could be harmful. Although many agreed that a lot of crime is committed by people on drugs, most felt that people who have a drug problem need help, not punishment.

Table 6.3: Level of Agreement/Disagreement with Statements on Illegal Drugs

Young people were asked to indicate their perceptions of the potential harm which may be sustained from the use of illegal drugs (see Table 6.4). Most young people said that they perceived there to be at least a moderate risk associated with all of the drug taking options presented, even occasional cannabis use (84% perceived some level of risk). Cannabis was perceived to be the lowest risk drug, however, only 4% of respondents said that regular cannabis use had no associated risks. A relatively low risk was associated with trying amphetamines, tranquillisers and sniffing glue once or twice, but even for these a large majority perceived a moderate or great risk.

Taking heroin regularly was perceived as the most high-risk behaviour, with 92% of respondents perceiving there to be a 'moderate' or 'great' risk of harm to those doing so. The other behaviours most frequently regarded as being of 'moderate' or 'great' risk were taking ecstasy regularly (91%), using glue or solvents regularly (86%) and trying ecstasy and heroin once or twice (both 84%).

Although there were no notable differences in perceptions of risk when analysed by demographic characteristics in the majority of questions, the risk associated with smoking cannabis regularly proved more divisive. For this question, females (21%) and older respondents (26%) were more likely to state that it was a 'no' or 'slight' risk behaviour compared to males (14%) and younger respondents (11%). Although the same differences in perception of risk were apparent in relation to other questions, this issue provided the most marked example.

Table 6.4: Perceptions of Risk and Patterns of Illegal Drug-taking

Offenders were less likely to perceive drug taking as risky than non-offenders. For example, 29% of young people who committed offences stated that smoking cannabis regularly was a 'no' or 'slight' risk behaviour, compared to 12% of those who were not offenders.

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