The Relationship between Alcohol Use and Burglary

Summary In this paper, we draw upon the findings of research conducted at the Institute of Criminology, Cambridge to assess the strength and nature of the association between drinking and burglary. The study was. based on interviews with offenders currently serving sentences for residential or non‐residential burglary. The analysis revealed that most offenders admitted to consuming alcohol before at least some of their burglaries and approximately one‐third stated that most of their offences were committed under the influence of drink. There was a strong correlation between the frequency of pre‐offence drinking and normal drinking. The majority of offenders saw no causal connection between their alcohol use and their criminal behaviour. They argued that either their offences were planned in drinking situations, independently of the effect of the alcohol consumed, or thy drank frequently anyway and saw no reason to change normal drinking patterns simply because they intended to commit an offence.