Author: Gary Jackson

Alcohol-Related Crimes: Statistics and Facts

This usually results in loss of jobs and business closure, which greatly diminishes their ability to provide for their children. An individual that may have responded calmly to an incident when sober is more likely to resort to violence if provoked when intoxicated. While most cases of intimate partner violence are often resolved before getting out of hand, they can lead to serious injuries and even death if allowed to escalate. Intimate partner violence mostly occurs when one intimate partner is intoxicated but can also     happen if both partners are excessively drunk. Moreover, alcohol is also frequently used by sexual offenders to incapacitate victims or lower their inhibitions and, therefore, reduce their ability to resist unconsented sexual advancements. The total estimated number of deaths by country from 1990 to 2019 is found here.

• In fact, no other substance increases the chances of homicides more than alcohol.
• This data is based on estimates of prevalence and treatment published by the World Health Organization (WHO).
• Children and teenagers do not have the mental, emotional, or physical maturity to handle intoxication or its effects.
• An estimated 1.4 million incidents of alcohol-related violence are committed against strangers each year.
• The level of alcohol abuse by the perpetrator also correlates with the frequency, severity, and timing of the abuse.

In South Africa and Papua New Guinea, more than half of all traffic deaths are attributable to alcohol consumption. Global data on the prevalence and effectiveness of alcohol use disorder treatment is incomplete. It’s estimated that globally, around 1 percent of the population has an alcohol use disorder. At the country level, as shown in the chart, this ranges from around 0.5 to 5 percent of the population. Alcohol use disorder, which includes alcohol dependence, is defined in the WHO’s International Classification of Diseases (available here). In the chart, we see estimates of the alcohol-attributable fraction (AAF), which is the proportion of deaths that are caused or exacerbated by alcohol (i.e., that proportion that would disappear if alcohol consumption was removed).

The disease burden from alcohol use disorders

Alcohol is also used by some sexual predators to lower the inhibitions of their victims or even incapacitate them so that they are unable to resist. Because alcohol eliminates a person’s ability to give reasonable and informed consent, it is also sexual assault to perform sexual acts on someone who is intoxicated. While alcohol is more closely correlated with violent crimes like assault, sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and abuse, illegal drugs are also a common factor in violent crimes. Effective alcohol abuse treatment programs may indirectly reduce delinquency and thus have greater long-term economic benefits than previously estimated (French et al., 2002). Moreover, public policy tools such as alcohol taxation, purchasing age limits, and penalties for drunk driving that aim to reduce drinking among this age group could also reduce criminal activity (Carpenter and Dobkin, 2010). This premise has been supported by previous research findings that increasing the beer tax or price of alcohol can reduce the rates of robbery, assault, and homicide (Chaloupka and Saffer, 1992; Cook and Moore, 1993; Markowitz, 2001, 2005).

Alcohol use disorder is a medical condition that requires professional assistance to overcome. It is also easy for drunk peers to pressure each other to commit offenses that they would otherwise avoid when sober. Due to the severity of the risks, DUI attracts heavy fines and even lengthy jail time.