Incidence of the use of illegal substances and alcohol for the commission of crimes in the city of Riobamba, in the year 2021

Abstract

Introduction: considering that the crime and delinquency rate has increased nationally in recent years and that in many forms of attack criminals use narcotic and psychotropic substances to facilitate crime.  Objectives: the incidence of the  use of illegal substances and alcohol for the commission of crimes in the city of Riobamba was investigated with data from the year 2021, Methodology: in the  first instance it was necessary to review information  from the laboratory of the Legal Medicine Service of Chimborazo and a private toxicology laboratory in order to obtain real data from victims of crime whose cases have been  denounced in the pertinent instances. Subsequently, the information was processed to determine which were the main substances used in mobile phones, and which crimes were the most frequent.  Results: the symptomatology of the victims was analyzed as well  as and classified substances used in crimes as psychotropic or narcotic and finally determined the relationship between lethality of victims and substances used in the commission of crimes through the application of data analysis and statistics.  Conclusions: se concluded that marijuana, cocaine, benzodiazepines, barbiturates and alkaloids are the illegal substances most used by criminals and that theft is the main crime for which victims are subjected, the vast majority of victims have episodes of confusion, disorientation, loss of will and balance, are symptoms caused by illegal substances and exploited by crime. The ethyl alcohol present in alcoholic beverages plays a preponderant role in criminal action since it is frequently combined with illegal substances taking advantage of the ability to mask smells and tastes of drugs. Although in the cases analyzed none of the victims has lost their lives due to overdose or toxicity of the substances used, the quantities supplied facilitate the manipulation of the will of the victims. It is recommended to use this research as a tool to contribute to citizen protection and crime prevention since the data determined are due to real cases raised in the city of Riobamba.  Area of general study: forensic sciences.  Specific area of study: toxicology.