Drug use at the time of the offense

• Drug-related crime
  
• Offenders under the influence at the time of the offense

Drug-related crime

In 1998 an estimated 61,000 convicted jail inmates said they had committed their offense to get money for drugs. Of convicted property and drug offenders, about 1 in 4 had committed their crimes to get money for drugs. A higher percentage of drug offenders in 1996 (24%) than in 1989 (14%) were in jail for a crime committed to raise money for drugs.

In 1997 19% of State prisoners and 16% of Federal inmates said they committed their current offense to obtain money for drugs. These percentages represent a slight increase from 1991, when 17% of State and 10% of Federal prisoners identified drug money as a motive for their current offense.

Source: BJS, Substance Abuse and Treatment, State and Federal Prisoners, 1997, NCJ 172871, January 1999.

The Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR) of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported that in 2000, 4.4% of the 12,943 homicides in which circumstances were known were narcotics related. Murders that occurred specifically during a narcotics felony, such as drug trafficking or manufacturing, are considered drug related.

Offenders under the influence at the time of the offense

• Victim's perception
  
  • Victims of workplace violence
  • American Indian victims
    
• Perspectives of probationers, State and Federal prisoners, and jail inmates

Victim's perception

According to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), in 1999, there were 7.4 million violent victimizations of residents age 12 or older. Victims of violence were asked to describe whether they perceived the offender to have been drinking or using drugs.

• About 28% of the victims of violence reported that the offender was using drugs, alone or in combination with alcohol.
• Based on victim perceptions, about 1.2 million violent crimes occurred each year in which victims were certain that the offender had been drinking. For about 1 in 4 of these violent victimizations involving alcohol use by the offender, victims believed the offender was also using drugs at the time of the offense.

Source: Table constructed by staff from the U.S. Census Bureau for the National Crime Victimization Survey, annually.

Victims of workplace violence

Of workplace victims of violence --

• 35% believed the offender was drinking or using drugs at the time of the incident
• 36% did not know if the offender had been drinking or using drugs
• 27% of all workplace offenders had not been drinking or using drugs

Victims of workplace violence varied in their perception of whether the offender used alcohol or drugs by occupation.

• 47% in law enforcement perceived the offender to be using alcohol or drugs
• 35% in the medical field
• 31% in retail sales

Source: BJS, Violence in the Workplace, 1993-99, NCJ 190076, December 2001. 

American Indian victims

Alcohol and drug use was a factor in more than half of violent crimes against American Indians.

Substantial differences can be found by race in the reports of victims of violence of their perceptions of drug and alcohol use by offenders. Among those who could describe alcohol or drug use by offenders, American Indian victims of violence were the most likely to report such perceived use by the offender.

Overall, in 55% of American Indian violent victimizations, the victim said the offender was under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or both. The offender's use of alcohol and/or drugs was somewhat less likely in violent crimes committed against whites (44%) or blacks (35%).

Perspectives of probationers, prisoners, and jail inmates

• Probationers
  
• Prisoners
  
• Jail inmates

Probationers

The first national survey of adults on probation, conducted in 1995, reported that 14% of probationers were on drugs when they committed their offense.

Source: BJS, Substance Abuse and Treatment of Adults on Probation, 1995, NCJ 166611, March 1998.

Among probationers, 49% of the mentally ill and 46% of others reported alcohol or drug use at the time of the offense.

Source: BJS, Mental Health and Treatment and Inmates and Probationers, NCJ 174463, July 1999.

Prisoners

In the 1997 Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities, 33% of State prisoners and 22% of Federal prisoners said they had committed their current offense while under the influence of drugs. Drug offenders (42%) and property offenders (37%) reported the highest incidence of drug use at the time of the offense.

Source: BJS, Substance Abuse and Treatment, State and Federal Prisoners, 1997, NCJ 172871, January 1999.

About 60% of mentally ill and 51% of other inmates in State prison were under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of their current offense.

Source: BJS, Mental Health and Treatment and Inmates and Probationers, NCJ 174463, July 1999.

Abused State inmates were more likely than those reporting no abuse to have been using illegal drugs at the time of their offense. This pattern occurred especially among female inmates. Forty-six percent of the abused women committed their current offense under the influence of illegal drugs. Among women who were not abused, 32% committed their offense while on drugs.

Source: BJS, Prior Abuse Reported by Inmates and Probationers, NCJ 172879, April 1999.

According to the 1997 Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities, veterans in State prisons (26%) were less likely than nonveterans (34%) to have been under the influence of drugs while committing their offense. In Federal prisons, about the same percentages of veterans (21%) and nonveterans (34%) reported drug use at the time of their offense.

Source: BJS, Veterans in Prison or Jail, NCJ 178888, January 2000.

A third of the parents in State prison reported committing their current offense while under the influence of drugs. Parents were most likely to report the influence of cocaine-based drugs (16%) and marijuana (15%) while committing their crime. About equal percentages of parents in State prison reported the use of opiates (6%) and stimulates (5%) at the time of their offense, while 2% used depressants or hallucinogens.

Thirty-two percent of mothers in State prison reported committing their crime to get drugs or money for drugs, compared to 19% of fathers.

Source: BJS, Incarcerated Parents and Their Children, NCJ 182335, August 2000. 

Jail inmates

In 1998 an estimated 138,000 convicted jail inmates (36%) were under the influence of drugs at the time of the offense.

Source: BJS, Drug Use, Testing, and Treatment in Jails, NCJ 179999, May 2000. 

In 1996, those jail inmates convicted of drug trafficking (60%), drug possession (57%), fraud (45%), or robbery (44%) were most likely to have reported to be using drugs at the time of the offense.

Source: BJS, Profile of Jail Inmates, 1996, NCJ 164620, April 1998.

According to the Survey of Inmates in Local Jails, 1996, more than half of prison of the jail inmates with an intimate victim had been drinking or using drugs when they committed the violent crime.

Source: BJS, Violence by Intimates, NCJ 167237, March 1998.

Sixty-five percent of mentally ill jail inmates and 57% of other jail inmates were under the influence of both alcohol and drug use at the time of the offense. These percentages were the highest compared to State inmates and probationers.

Source: BJS, Mental Health and Treatment of Inmates and Probationers, NCJ 174463, July 1999.

Based on data from the 1996 Survey of Inmates in Local Jails, 29% of veterans and 32% of nonveterans in local jails were under the influence of drugs at the time of offense.

Source: BJS, Veterans in Prison or Jail, NCJ 178888, January 2000. 

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