Drugs and Crime Facts, 1989

• NCJ Number: 121022
• Date Published: January 1990
• Publication Type: Publication

Annotation

Victims report that they believe their assailants were under the influence of drugs or alcohol in about 36 percent of violent crime incidents.

Abstract

Victims of rape and assault were more likely than robbery victims to report that the offenders had used drugs or alcohol. In 43 percent of violent crimes, the victims reported that they did not know if the offender was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Victims of robbery were more likely than other victims to report that they did not know if the offenders had used drugs or alcohol. Most State prison inmates (54 percent) in 1986 reported that they were under the influence of drugs or alcohol or both at the time they committed the offense for which they were currently sentenced: 17 percent were under the influence of drugs only, and 18 percent were under the influence of drugs and alcohol. More than half (52 percent) of the State prisoners said they had taken illegal drugs during the month before committing the crime, and 43 percent said they had used drugs on a daily basis in that month. Drug offenders and burglars were the most likely to have been under the influence of drugs at the time of their offense. 18 source notes.