Research
suggests that a decreasing share of violent crime is attributable to offenders
who had been drinking alcoholic beverages. Surveys of victims indicate that
the rate of alcohol-involved violent crimes (i.e., crimes in which the perpetrators
had been drinking, as perceived by the victims) decreased 34 percent from
1993 to 1998, whereas the rate of non-alcohol-involved violence decreased
22 percent. Surveys of some offenders also suggest that alcohols role
in violence is decreasing. The decrease in alcohol-involved violence is consistent
with declines in other measures of alcohol use and misuse, including per capita
alcohol consumption and alcohol involvement in traffic crashes. In contrast,
violent offenders in State prisons are increasingly likely to report having
used alcohol before committing their offenses, possibly illustrating the effect
of more severe sanctions for alcohol-involved offenses. KEY WORDS: AODR (alcohol
or other drug [AOD] related) crime; AODR violence; offender; self-report;
victim of crime; probation; jail inmate; AOD use pattern; trend; survey
Violent
crime in the United States
decreased at an unprecedented rate during the 1990s. According to victim surveys,
approximately 23 percent fewer violent crimes occurred in 1998 than in 1993.
Similarly, data from the 18,000 police departments nationwide indicated that
the number of violent crimes brought to the attention of law enforcement authorities
decreased 21 percent between 1993 and 1998. Criminologists have provided numerous
reasons for the decline in violent crime that incorporate demographic, economic,
and policyrelated explanations. Utilizing national
data maintained by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), this article examines
the extent to which changes in alcoholinvolved violence may contribute to the declining rates
of violent crime.
Measuring
the Extent to Which Alcohol and Other Drug Use Is Involved in Crime
Researchers
face significant limitations in measuring the role of alcohol use in criminal
behavior, because most alcohol consumption does not result in crime. In addition,
nonoffending behavior is not typically measured;
therefore, limited statistical information exists on which to estimate the
likelihood that a person will commit a criminal act during or following alcohol
consumption. This article examines two major sources of information on alcohols
involvement in crime: (1) victim surveys and (2) offender surveys. A study
reported by BJS in 1998, which used both of these resources, found that they
yielded similar estimates regarding the involvement of alcohol and other drug
use in crime. The investigators evaluated victim, offender, and law enforcement
data from 1992 through 1995 and estimated that offenders had used either alcohol
alone or alcohol with other drugs in approximately 37 percent of violent victimizations
in which victims were able to describe substance use by the offenders (Greenfeld
1998). The study also found that in regard to violent offenders, 41 percent
on probation, 41 percent in local jails, and 38 percent in State prisons reported
that they had been using alcohol when they committed their offenses (Greenfeld 1998).
Victims
Perceptions of Offenders AOD Use
Most
knowledge about the incidence and prevalence of violence derives from the
National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), an ongoing survey of U.S.
households conducted since 1973 by the BJS. The NCVS gathers information about
exposure to and consequences of crime among the general U.S.
population. Researchers use a nationally representative sample of approximately
50,000 U.S.
households. All household members age 12 and older are interviewed twice per
year and are asked about any crimes that they may have experienced during
the preceding 6 months. More than 200,000 interviews are conducted each year,
and approximately 7,000 respondents report having been victims of violent
crimesuch as rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and
simple assaultor victims of attempted violence.
In
1986 researchers added new items to the NCVS in order to gain information
about the following: victims perceptions of alcohol and other drug use
by offenders, ways in which victims attempted to protect themselves, and victims
descriptions of the criminal justice systems response. Questions on
alcohol and other drug use were only asked of victims of violence, because
personal contact between victims and offenders was essential for collecting
data on victims perceptions (Whitaker 1989). Estimates derived from
the NCVS indicated that about 70 percent of victims of violence were consistently
able to describe whether their offenders had been drinking or using other
drugs.
The
first report to reflect the new information, published in 1989, indicated
that among victims of violence who could determine whether their offenders
had been using alcohol, only slightly less than one-half (49 percent) of the
victims believed that the offenders had used alcohol. According to the victims
reports, male offenders were more likely than were female offenders to have
been drinking, white offenders were more likely than were black offenders
to have been drinking, and older offenders were more likely than were younger
offenders to have been drinking. No significant differences were found in
alcohol use between offenders who were strangers and offenders who were not
strangers (Whitaker 1989).
Between
1993 and 1998, the number of violent victimizations experienced by the public
dropped about 23 percent, from just over 10.5 million to about 8.1 million
(see table 1). Based on victims self-reports, the number of violent
crimes in which the offenders were perceived to be using only alcohol decreased
34 percent between 1993 and 1998, whereas the number of violent offenses in
which the offenders were believed to be using only other drugs actually increased
19 percent. The number of violent victimizations in which the offenders were
not believed to be using alcohol or other drugs decreased 22 percent.
|
Table
1 Number of Violent Victimizations by Perceived Offender Substance Use,
1993 and 1998
|
|
|
Victims
Perceptions of Offender Substance Use
|
|
|
1993
|
1998
|
Change
in Perception
From
1993 to 1998
|
|
Offender
Substance Use
|
(n)
|
(n)
|
(%)
|
|
All
violent victimizations
|
10,531,582
|
8,116,238
|
-23
|
|
Alcohol
|
2,069,457
|
1,365,903
|
-34
|
|
Illicit
drugs
|
443,426
|
526,522
|
19
|
|
Both
alcohol and illicit drugs
|
614,410
|
497,930
|
-19
|
|
No
alcohol or illicit drugs
|
4,247,235
|
3,323,789
|
-22
|
|
Victim
did not know
|
3,157,054
|
2,402,094
|
-24
|
SOURCE:
Bureau of Justice Statistics National Crime Victimization Survey, 1993
and 1998.
In
1993 victims ascribed alcohol use to offenders in nearly 2.1 million violent
crime incidents; in 1998 an estimated 1.4 million violent crimes were considered
alcohol-involved based on the victims perceptions. Whereas the number
of violent crimes experienced by all victims decreased by approximately 2.4
million during that period, the number of alcohol-involved crimes decreased
by about 700,000.
Victim
surveys also suggest that when a violent offender is suspected of substance
use, alcohol use is more often suspected than is other drug use. Based on
the data from victims of violence who were interviewed between 1993 and 1998
and who could describe their offenders use of alcohol and other drugs,
an estimated 26 percent of the offenders were using only alcohol; about 8
percent were using only illicit drugs; about 7 percent were using both alcohol
and other drugs; about 2 percent were using a substance not known to the victim;
and the remaining offenders, totaling about 58 percent, were not believed
to have been using any substance at the time of their offenses (see table
2).
|
Table
2 Offender Substance Use at the Time of Offense, by Victim-Offender
Relationship, 19931998
|
|
|
Offender
Substance Use*(%)
|
|
Victim-Offender
Relationship
|
Total
|
Alcohol
|
Other
Drugs
|
Alcohol
and/or Other Drugs
|
No
Substance Use
|
|
All
victims of violence
|
100
|
26
|
8
|
9
|
58
|
|
Intimate
partner**
|
100
|
51
|
10
|
12
|
28
|
|
Other
family member
|
100
|
38
|
16
|
13
|
34
|
|
Acquaintance
|
100
|
26
|
10
|
11
|
53
|
|
Stranger
|
100
|
22
|
6
|
7
|
65
|
Substance
use appears to be linked more often in intimate partner violence than in violence
between strangers. Between 1993 and 1998, nearly three out of four victims
who suffered violence by an intimate partner (i.e., a current or former spouse,
boyfriend, or girlfriend) reported that alcohol or other drug use had been
present. Among spouse victims, 2 out of 3 incidents were reported to have
involved an offender who had been drinking, and 8 out of 10 incidents involved
alcohol, other drugs, or both. Among female victims of intimate partner violence,
no differences were found in perceived alcohol or other drug use by race;
approximately 6 out of 10 of black, white, and Hispanic women reported that
the offender had been drinking or had been both drinking and using other drugs
(see table 3). Victims perceived the offender to be using either alcohol alone
or both alcohol and other drugs in only about 29 percent of violent incidents
between strangers, however (see table 2).
*Offender
substance use is based on reports from victims who were able to describe whether
an offender had been using alcohol and/or other drugs at the time of the offense.
**Includes
current or former spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend. Substance use is more
likely to be a factor in intimate partner violence compared with violence
between strangers.
NOTE:
Due to rounding, the percentages within the categories may not total 100 percent.
SOURCE: National Crime Victimization Survey, 19931998.
Table
3 Rates of Substance Use Among Violent Offenders as Reported by Female Victims,
by Victims Race/Ethnicity, 19931998* Female Victims
Race/Ethnicity (%)
|
Offender
Substance Use**
|
All
|
White
|
Black
|
Hispanic
|
|
Alcohol
only
|
52
|
53
|
49
|
52
|
|
Other
drugs only
|
10
|
11
|
8
|
9
|
|
Both
|
11
|
11
|
8
|
5
|
|
Either
|
2
|
2
|
3
|
1
|
|
Neither
|
25
|
23
|
31
|
33
|
*Rates
reflect offender substance use in cases in which the victim was a female and
the victim and offender were intimate partners.
**Offender
substance use is based on reports from victims who were able to describe whether
an offender had been using alcohol and/or other drugs at the time of the offense.
NOTE:
Due to rounding, the percentages within the categories may not total 100 percent.
SOURCE:
National Crime Victimization Survey, 19931998.
Offenders
substance use (as perceived by victims) also varied by type of crime. Based
on victim reports, drinking offenders committed more than one-third of the
rapes and sexual assaults among victims age 12 and older and more than one-fourth
of the aggravated and simple assaults. Among the alcohol-involved rapes and
sexual assaults, the offender was perceived as using alcohol in combination
with other drugs in 18 percent of the cases. Other drug use also was perceived
by victims in 33 percent of the alcohol-involved robberies, 26 percent of
the alcohol-involved aggravated assaults, and 16 percent of the alcoholinvolved
simple assaults.
Table
4 illustrates the relationships between types of offender substance use and
types of offenses. Among those cases in which the victim reported that the
offender was using only alcohol (i.e., no other drugs) at the time of the
offense, nearly two-thirds of the offenses were simple assaults. Robbery accounted
for about 6 percent of the offenses by offenders reported to have used only
alcohol but accounted for about 19 percent of the incidents in which the offenders
were perceived to have been using other drugs.
Table
4 Offender Substance Use at the Time of Offense, by Type of Offense, 19931998
Offender
Substance Use* (%)
|
Type
of Violent Offense
|
Alcohol
Only
|
Other
Drugs Only
|
Alcohol
and Other Drugs
|
No
Substance Use
|
|
Total
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
|
Rape/sexual
assault
|
7
|
3
|
5
|
3
|
|
Robbery
|
6
|
19
|
11
|
17
|
|
Aggravated
assault
|
23
|
26
|
31
|
23
|
|
Simple
assault
|
65
|
52
|
52
|
57
|
*Offender
substance use is based on reports from victims who were able to describe whether
an offender had been using alcohol and/or other drugs at the time of the offense.
NOTE:
Due to rounding, the percentages within the categories may not total 100 percent.
SOURCE: National Crime Victimization Survey, 19931998.
Characteristics
of Victimizations Involving Alcohol
From
1993 through 1998, nearly onehalf of the violent
victimizations in which the victim reported alcohol use by the offender (i.e.,
alcohol-involved incidents) occurred in a residence, and more than 20 percent
occurred in the victims home. One of seven alcohol involved incidents
occurred near or at the victims workplace. More than one-third of the
incidents involving alcohol occurred in a public place (e.g., commercial areas,
parking lots, schools, or parks), with the most common location being an open
area, such as in a park or on the street.
Almost
one-half of the violent victimizations involving alcohol use by the offender
occurred between 6 p.m. and 12
a.m., and slightly more than one-fourth of these incidents occurred
between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m.
The fewest incidents occurred between 6 a.m.
and 12 p.m.
Overall,
about 26 percent of all violent incidents from 1993 through 1998 involved
the use of a weapon, 36 percent involved the use of hands and feet only, and
38 percent involved neither a weapon nor hands and feet. Alcohol-involved
offenders, as described by victims, were as likely as violent offenders in
general to have not used a weapon or to have used their hands and feet only.
Slightly more than one-fourth of the alcohol-involved incidents involved a
weapon. Among all alcohol-involved incidents, victims reported firearm use
in 9 percent of the cases, whereas firearms were used in 11 percent of violent
incidents that were not alcohol related.
Approximately
one-third of the alcohol-involved victimizations resulted in an injury to
the victim. About one in five victims of violence who perceived the offender
to have been using alcohol at the time of the offense (i.e., approximately
400,000 victims per year) suffered a financial loss attributable to medical
expenses, broken or stolen property, or lost wagesequaling an
annual loss of $400 million (see table 5).
Table
5 Estimated Annual Costs to Victims of Alcohol-Involved Violence by Type of
Expense, 19931998*
|
Type
of
Expense/Loss
|
Average
Loss
per Victim
|
Estimated
Total
Annual Loss
|
|
Total
|
$1,016
|
$401,800,000
|
|
Medical
expenses
|
2,033
|
230,400,000
|
|
Cash
loss
|
248
|
10,500,000
|
|
Property
|
|
|
|
Loss
|
604
|
49,500,000
|
|
Repair
|
267
|
32,300,000
|
|
Replacement
|
310
|
23,000,000
|
|
Lost
pay from
|
|
|
|
Injury
|
711
|
40,200,000
|
|
Other causes
|
428
|
15,900,000
|
*Victims
of alcohol-involved violence lost a total of $400 million each year from 1993
to 1998. SOURCE: National Crime Victimization Survey, 19931998.
|
Total
correctional populations
|
37.6
|
|
Probation
|
39.9
|
|
Local jail
|
39.5
|
|
State prison
|
37.2
|
|
Federal prison
|
20.4
|
|
Parole
|
29.3
|
Correctional
Populations That Used Alcohol During Offense (%)
Percentages
of correctional populations estimated to have been using alcohol at the time
of their conviction offenses. The correctional populations are categorized
by correctional status (e.g., probation, State prison, or parole) during 1998.
SOURCE: Bureau of Justice Statistics surveys of correctional populations.
Alcohol
Use Among Convicted Offenders
In
addition to victims reports of offender substance use, researchers also
draw on surveys of offenders concerning their use of alcohol and other drugs
in general as well as in relation to a particular offense. The BJS periodically
conducts surveys among the Nations population of offenders to learn
more about their backgrounds.1 (1 Unless otherwise noted,
surveys cited in this article were conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics
(BJS), U.S. Department of Justice. Additional information about these surveys
can be obtained from the BJS. ) Representative samples of probationers and
offenders in local jails and in State and Federal prisons are interviewed
about their criminal histories, family backgrounds, and numerous elements
of their offenses. Among the topics of interest is their use of alcohol, both
in the past and at the time of the offense. Such information is not typically
available from official records; these surveys provide the only uniform national
description of offenders use of alcohol. Changes in the extent to which
offenders self-report alcohol use as a factor in their offenses may
be an important indicator of changes in offending.
On
an average day in 1998, an estimated 5.7 million convicted offenders were
under the supervision of criminal justice authorities. Based on nationally
representative sample surveys conducted among probationers (Survey of Adults
on Probation, 1996), jail inmates (Survey of Inmates in Local Jails, 1996),
and prisoners in custody in State and Federal prisons (Surveys of Inmates
in State and Federal Correctional Facilities, 1997), nearly 38 percent of
those offenders were drinking at the time of the offenses for which they were
convicted.2 (2 About 4 in 10 murderers in State prison
reported that they had been consuming alcohol at the time of the offense.
An additional 10 percent reported that only the victim had been drinking alcohol
at the time of the homicide.) Unless otherwise noted, surveys cited in this
article were conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), U.S. Department
of Justice. Additional information about these surveys can be obtained from
the BJS. (For information regarding sources of data on alcohol and crime.)
This estimate translates into more than 2 million convicted offenders nationwide
on an average day1.4 million on probation, 100,000 in local jails, 460,000
in State and Federal prisons, and more than 200,000 under parole supervisionfor
whom alcohol might have been a factor in their crimes (see figure).

Percentages
of correctional populations estimated to have been using alcohol at the time
of their conviction offenses. The correctional populations are categorized
by correctional status (e.g., probation, State prison, or parole) during 1998.
SOURCE:
Bureau of Justice Statistics surveys of correctional populations.
Offenders
on probation and those in jail or State prison reported similar rates of drinking
at the time of their offenses. Offenders convicted of public order offenses,
such as drinking and driving, weapons offenses, and commercial vice (e.g.,
prostitution, gambling, or pornography) were the most likely to report alcohol
use at the time of the offense (see table 6). Offenders convicted of violent
crimes also reported high rates of drinking. For example, more than 40 percent
of murderers in jail or State prison reported that they had been drinking
at the time of their offenses, and nearly onehalf
of those convicted of assault and sentenced to probation had been drinking
when the offenses occurred.
Table
6 Convicted Offenders Who Reported Drinking at the Time of Offense, by Offense
Type
Current
Offender Status (%)
|
Type
of Offense
|
Probation
|
Local
Jail Inmate
|
State
Prison Inmate
|
Federal
Prison Inmate
|
|
All
offenses
|
39.9
|
39.5
|
37.2
|
20.4
|
|
Violent
offense
|
40.7
|
40.6
|
41.7
|
24.5
|
|
Murder
|
*
|
43.7
|
44.6
|
38.7
|
|
Rape/sexual assault
|
31.8
|
31.5
|
40.0
|
32.3
|
|
Robbery
|
*
|
37.6
|
37.4
|
18.0
|
|
Assault
|
45.5
|
45.4
|
45.1
|
|