The Relationship of Drugs, Drug Trafficking, and Drug Traffickers to Homicide

Abstract

Wide the relationsliip between drugs and homicide has often been documented, its full extent and complexity are not well known. Using data front a shidy of 414 liomicide events coiiiiiiitted in New Yorlc City during eight niontlis of 1988, this analysis explores that relationsliip. I I~ addition, data are analyzed for 266 perpetrators and 236 victims of those cases. By conservative estiiiiale, more than half of the homicide events were found to have been drug-related. 111 addition, it was determined that many that were not dnig-related either took place at a known dnig location, 26 Joiinial of Clime atid Justice involved perpetrators and/or victims who were ktiowtt by the police to have beeti itivolved with dtiigs atid dmg trajjcl~itig or itivolved perpetrators and/or victims with ptior ofjicial critiiitial records for dmg sales or possession. Tlie firidirigs siiggest that lethal violence or homicide to a large extent is fociised 011 conttiiunities of people directly or indirectly irivolved wit11 dnigs or dnig trafficki~ig.

Drug Use, Drug Possession Arrests, and the Question of Race: Lessons from Seattle

“…15 Although the crack trade has been associated with high levels of systemic violence-that is, violence that results from the unregulated nature of the illegal drug market-in some cities during some periods of time (Blumstein 1995;Brownstein et al 1992;Goldstein et al 1997), local police officials have noted that this association does not appear to have existed in Seattle during the period under investigation (Klement and Siggins 2001:37). According to these officials, analysis of homicide and other violent crimes (which are comparatively infrequent in Seattle) indicates no "significant level of violence associated with crack" (Klement and Siggins 2001:37).…”

Exploring the Drugs-Homicide Connection

“…The coding scheme for the dependent variable is similar to that proposed by Goldstein (1995) and later tested by Brownstein and colleagues (Brownstein et al, 1992;Brownstein & Goldstein, 1990) but also differs in important ways. In fact, the coding more closely resembles that proposed in Rosenfeld's (1991) comparison of drug-use and drug-transaction homicides with the added category of drug-motivated incidents.…”

“…Research indicates that more than one half of all homicides may involve drug circumstances (Brownstein et al, 1992). In an analysis of all homicide incidents that occurred in St. Louis between 1985, Rosenfeld (1991 reported 26% were drug related.…”

“…The purpose of this research was first to disaggregate the concept of drug-related homicide by providing an event classification scheme that conceptualizes the diverse roles drugs play in drug-related events. A categorical coding scheme is presented that is similar to that proposed by Goldstein (1995) and later tested by Brownstein and colleagues (Brownstein & Goldstein, 1990;Brownstein, Baxi, Goldstein, & Ryan, 1992) that specifies three distinct types of homicide events. Included among these are (a) events that involved no evidence of illicit drugs associated with the homicide event, (b) those that involved the presence of drugs or drug use at the scene as well as events where either the victim and/or offender were buying or selling drugs (we term this peripherally drug-related homicides), and (c) events where the sale or use of drugs was the motivating feature of the homicide event.…”

Methamphetamine Use and Criminal Behavior

“…Brownstein, Baxi, Goldstein, and Ryan (1992) revealed that drugs are a salient factor in homicides. Their research suggests that drugs may be involved in as many as one half of all homicides.…”