54% of Jail Inmates Drank Alcohol Before Committing Violent Crimes

WASHINGTON — More than half of jail inmates convicted of violent crimes had been drinking before committing the offenses, the Justice Department said Sunday in a study of alcohol’s role in fueling crime.

Altogether, 54% of 32,112 people convicted of violent crimes had been drinking, a report by the department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics said.

For all crimes, including nonviolent offenses, burglary and public disorder, 48% of the convicted inmates had been using alcohol before committing the offense.

Nearly seven out of 10 people convicted of manslaughter had been drinking before the offense, and 62% of those convicted of assault had been drinking. The survey found that 49% of those convicted of murder or attempted murder had been drinking.

The survey also found:

--At least 80% of the inmates had a prior criminal conviction, and about two-thirds of them had served time in another jail or prison.

--Ninety-three percent of the 5,785 inmates were men, and blacks, who constituted 12% of the general population in 1983, made up 39% of the jail inmate population.