Neighbors at a “neighborhood watch” meeting shout me down, asserting “Non-alcoholics commit plenty of crime!”
“Non-alcoholics commit plenty of crime!â€
At a recent neighborhood watch meeting, your faithful correspondent responded to complaints about recovery homes in the neighborhood. “You should be concerned about group recovery homes in your midst”but only if the recovering addicts aren’t being tested regularly and randomly, because practicing addicts”not recovering ones”are responsible for most crime.”The response, “No they’re not! Non-alcoholics commit plenty of crime!”was almost deafening. My neighbors truly had no idea that alcohol and other-drug addicts commit at least 80% and probably closer to 90% of crime.
This is important because parole officers don’t test every day. There are plenty of hours between tests, during which addicts can relapse. And 12 hours after an alcoholic hits a blood alcohol level of .18 per cent, a time during which dangerously reckless and criminal behaviors can occur, he or she will test zero.
Between those tests others can observe behaviors that indicate relapse. If an addict is in recovery, he won’t act like one who isn’t. As recounted in Drunks, Drugs & Debits: How to Recognize Addicts and Avoid Financial Abuse, relapse prevention specialist Terence Gorski reported a study in which 90% of recovering addicts with only five days of sobriety tested as Sociopaths, while only 10% of those same addicts after 25 days of sobriety could be identified as such. Recovering alcoholics in group homes have typically already been through at least 30 days of rehab and often much longer.
Behaviors neighbors might observe include acting suspicious or inconsiderate. A God-complex and verbal abuse goes hand-in-hand with the criminal-styled addict. As pointed out in How to Spot Hidden Alcoholics: Using Behavioral Clues to Recognize Addiction in its Early Stages, if he’s violating the rules”comes home after curfew or drives when not allowed”we can safely assume relapse. There may be exceptions, but that’s why they’re called that.
I had a chance to speak again. I introduced myself as having authored four books on alcohol and other-drug addiction and explained that in the course of my research I interviewed recovering addict ex-cons. When I asked what percent of their fellow inmates were addicts, they always responded, “100%.”While it may not be quite that high, it’s close enough. After all, when you’re watching your neighborhood, you’re mind is not a court of law.