Although the number of individuals injured in violent criminal victimizations is approximately equal to the number injured in traffic accidents in the U.S., the relationship between alcohol and the former type of injury has rarely been studied. The goal of this research is to examine the role of alcohol in injuries suffered by victims of assaults and robberies, and to examine the way in which routine drinking behavior of individuals is related to the risk of violent criminal victimization. Specific research questions to be addressed are: does alcohol consumption increase the likelihood of victimization and injury? Is there a relationship between consumption and the severity of injury? Does alcohol consumption lead to differential risk of injury in robberies versus assaults? How do perceptions of and attitudes about alcohol and its place in social life affect attitudes about the role of alcohol in victimization and injuries among the general public and among police officers, who process crime incidents and deal first hand with offenders and victims in an attempt to determine how such incidents occur, and how to prevent them. The theoretical framework utilized, routine activity, stresses the fact that individuals have distinctive risk of victimization patterns because of differences in their routine daily activities. Routine drinking behavior is the key variable in applying this framework to the relationship between consumption, victimization, and injury. Three data collection efforts in a small Northern California city are proposed to examine this relationship: a survey of victims of robberies and assaults from emergency rooms and from police reports, in order to measure routine drinking behavior along with other factors among injured and noninjured victims; a survey of the population of the city to compare routine drinking behavior along with other factors of nonvictims with that of victims; and a vignette survey of police officers in the same city to examine the way in which alcohol affects officer discretion in the processing of victimizations.
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