NCJ Number
157830
Date Published
1991
Length
23 pages
Annotation
The link between drug events and homicide was assessed using data collected during police investigations of 414 homicides in New York City.
Abstract
Drug events took place between March 1 and October 31, 1988, in 17 of the city's 75 police precincts. Case-specific information was collected on drug-related homicides, including information not normally maintained in police profiles. For example, information was obtained on prior and immediate drug use by both perpetrator and victim, police knowledge of prior drug involvement, and whether the event involved a drug sale or a drug purchase. Cases were classified as drug-related only when both researchers and police agreed that the homicide would not have occurred in the absence of drugs. Prior criminal records of drug- related homicides were compared with nondrug-related homicides. About 78 percent of homicide perpetrators had an official prior criminal history. Of those involved in drug-related cases, 87 percent had a criminal arrest record. Of those involved in nondrug-related homicides, 68 percent had a criminal arrest record. Only 39 percent of homicide perpetrators had an official record of drug arrests. Even among those involved in drug-related cases, only 50 percent had an arrest record for drug offenses. Approximately 66 percent of homicide perpetrators had been arrested one or more times for a violent felony. The authors conclude that individuals involved in homicide, drug-related or not, more frequently have a history of violence than a history of drug offenses. 18 references, 2 notes, and 8 tables