NCJ Number
102897
Date Published
1986
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This paper reports on criminal history and drug consumption (including alcohol and prescription drugs) for a random sample of drivers selected for breath testing in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia, on Friday and Saturday evenings between 9:30 p.m. and midnight in August and November 1981, and 3:00 February, May, and November 1982.
Abstract
Official criminal records were checked for 1 in 5 drivers not using alcohol or drugs and for all drivers who tested as having used alcohol or medication (10.5 percent). The same survey sites were used for each month of the survey. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. The chi-square test was used to measure the statistical significance of differences between categorical variables. Alcohol use among drivers was associated with a higher incidence of known criminality than among nondrinking drivers. Offenses committed by drinkers were more likely to involve offenses against the person than were offenses committed by nondrinkers. Drivers who admitted use of prescribed or over-the-counter medication were less likely to have a criminal record than those who reported they had not used these drugs. There was no difference between the types of crimes committed by nondrug users and users of over-the-counter or prescribed medicines. These findings are compared with comparable findings for samples of inmates, overdose patients, and drug offenders. 16 tables, 1 figure, and 40 references.