Pathological gambling and substance abuse in the Las Vegas arrestee population

There has been extensive literature on the nature of pathological gambling and substance abuse on criminal offending; however, most of what is known about these disorders stem from clinical populations and the general population. Both of these populations differ from arrestee populations; therefore, our understanding about the disorders remains limited. This is a study among the arrestee population utilizing data collected in Las Vegas detention centers during a federally funded research project that monitors the extent and nature of drug abuse. In addition to the program, a Gambling Addendum was administered to all willing participants; Findings support a greater prevalence of pathological gamblers in the arrestee population. Furthermore, findings also indicate that being a pathological gambler increases the odds of committing a property crime while having a substance abuse problem increases the odds of committing a felony and committing more property crimes