1997-98 Academy Text Supplement

Chapter 17


Victims of Drunk Driving Crashes

Statistical Overview

Alcohol and Crime

In April 1998, Assistant Attorney General Laurie Robinson, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, convened the first National Symposium on Alcohol Abuse and Crime in Washington, D.C. In preparation for the symposium, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) within the Justice Department prepared a comprehensive report entitled Alcohol and Crime: An Analysis of National Data on the Prevalence of Alcohol Involvement in Crime.

This important new publication contains the following data:

The report also states that there are many positive indicators that alcohol-related crime is generally decreasing. For example:

(Greenfield, L. (1998, April, publication forthcoming). Alcohol and Crime: An Analysis of National Data on the Prevalence of Alcohol Involvement in Crime," NCJ-168632. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.)

DUI/DWI Arrests and Fatal Crashes

According to new data released in the study Alcohol and Crime, driving while under the influence of alcohol (DUI), which also includes driving while under the influence of drugs and driving while intoxicated (DWI), represents the most common reason for arrests by the police. For example:

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration defines intoxicated drivers as those with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.10 grams of alcohol per deciliter of blood or higher, the legal measure of intoxication in most states. (Ibid.)