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

While the relationship between drugs and homicide has often been documented, its full extent and complexity are not well known. Using data from a study of 414 homicide events committed in New York City during eight months of 1988, this analysis explores that relationship. In addition, data are analyzed for 266 perpetrators and 236 victims of those cases. By conservative estimate, more than half of the homicide events were found to have been Drug-related. In addition, it was determined that many that were not drug-related either took place at a known drug location, involved perpetrators and/or victims who were known by the police to have been involved with drugs and Drug trafficking or involved perpetrators and/or victims with prior official criminal records for Drug sales or possession. The findings suggest that lethal violence or homicide to a large extent is focused on communities of people directly or indirectly involved with drugs or drug trafficking.