An analysis of context and alcohol consumption in a group of criminal events

The aim of this analysis was to demonstrate the importance of examining the context of alcohol consumption with regard to a criminal event. The paper explores information which was part of a larger study of alcohol use by violent and non-violent offenders. Data were collected by interview from the offenders and correlated with other reports. Earlier findings of the study which have been reported suggested that level of consumption was associated with the type of offence. In this paper a more complex drinking/drinking context and crime relationship is shown to exist. The circumstances at the time of the crime were related more to the level of alcohol consumption than to the violent or non-violent nature of the crime. Type of beverage, companionship and time of day were found to be particularly good indicators of the amount of alcohol consumed.