Unhooked Science Readings

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Violence and Crime & Alcohol and Other Drugs

"In both animal and human studies, alcohol, more than any other drug, has been linked with a high incidence of violence and aggression." Seventh Special Report to the U.S. Congress on Alcohol and Health (Secretary of Health and Human Services, January 1990)

Crime is inextricably related to alcohol and other drugs (AOD). More than 1.1 million annual arrests for illicit drug violations, almost 1.4 million arrests for driving while intoxicated, 480,000 arrests for liquor law violations and 704,000 arrests for drunkenness come to a total of 4.3 million arrests for alcohol and other drug statutory crimes. That total accounts for over one-third of all arrests in this country.[1,2]

The impaired judgment and violence induced by alcohol contribute to alcohol-related crime. Rapes, fights, and assaults leading to injury, manslaughter, and homicide often are linked with alcohol because the perpetrator, the victim, or both, were drinking. The economic cost of AOD-related crime is $61.8 billion annually.[3]

Many perpetrators of violent crime were also using illicit drugs. Some of these drugs, such as PCP and steroids, may induce violence. These drugs can also be a catalyst for aggressive-prone individuals who exhibit violent behavior as a result of taking them.

The need for preventing alcohol and other drug problems is clear when the following statistics are examined:

• Alcohol is a key factor in up to 68 percent of manslaughters, 62 percent of assaults, 54 percent of murders/attempted murders, 48 percent of robberies, and 44 percent of burglaries.[4]
• Among jail inmates, 42.2 percent of those convicted of rape reported being under the influence of alcohol or alcohol and other drugs at the time of the offense.[5]
• Over 60 percent of men and 50 percent of women arrested for property crimes (burglary, larceny, robbery) in 1990, who were voluntarily tested, tested positive for illicit drug use.[2]
• In 1987, 64 percent of all reported child abuse and neglect cases in New York City were associated with parental AOD abuse.[6]

We cannot put a monetary value on the human lives and suffering associated with alcohol and other drug problems. But we know the child welfare and court costs needed to deal with the consequences of these problems are substantial. The cost to arrest, try, sentence, and incarcerate those found guilty for these 4.3 million alcohol- and other drug-related offenses is a tremendous drain on our Nation's resources.

Prevention works to reduce the problems associated with alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use. For more information, call the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information at 1-800-729-6686.

All statistics cited in this Making the Link fact sheet come from the following sources:

1.U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Crime in the United States 1991, Washington, DC, 1992.

2.U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Drugs, Crime, and the Justice System: A National Report, Washington, DC, 1992.

3.Institute for Health Policy, Brandeis University, Substance Abuse: The Nation's Number One Health Problem: Key Indicators for Policy. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, October 1993.

4.U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute on Alcohol abuse and Alcoholism, Alcohol and Health: Sixth Special Report to Congress on Alcohol and Health from the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 1987.

5.Collins, J.J. and Messerschmidt, M.A., Epidemiology of Alcohol-Related Violence, Alcohol Health and Research World, 17(2): 93-100, 1993, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

6.Chasnoff, I.J., Drugs, Alcohol, Pregnancy and Parenting, Northwestern University Medical School, Departments of Pediatrics and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Hingham, MA, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1988.

Spring 1995 NCADI Inventory Number ML002