NCJ Number
99880
Date Published
1985
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Based on a study of 500 bank robbers convicted between 1964 and 1976, this study examines the extent of their alcohol use, multiple drug use, demographic characteristics, education, marital status, residential stability, employment, and religion.
Abstract
All bank robbers studied appeared before the U.S. district court in Brooklyn, N.Y. The data analysis was based on a sample of 423 bank robbers, since the extent of alcohol use could not be determined for 77. Data were obtained from presentence reports, probation files, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. A total of 12.5 percent were alcoholic, and an additional 48 percent were moderate drinkers. The rest were abstainers at the time of their arrest. The alcoholic bank robbers tended to be older than others in the sample, white, poorly educated, separated or divorced, and on welfare. They were less likely than moderate and nondrinkers to use marijuana or opiates and more likely to have had multiple prior convictions for both violent and property crimes. A total of 17.2 percent of the alcoholics had two or more residential moves in the 2 years before their arrest. Most were Catholics or Jews but attended church infrequently. Study implications are discussed. Tabular data and 9 references.