CHANGES IN THE DRINKING AGE AND CRIME

About half of all violent crimes are committed under the influence of alcohol. This study examined whether limiting legal access to alcohol for certain age groups affected the commission of selected crimes by individuals in those age groups. Arrest data from the Uniform Crime Reports were analyzed in relation to changes in the drinking age in the range 18 to 21 years. For aggravated assault and for other assaults no significant reductions were found, but for vandalism and disorderly conduct significant reductions on the order of 10 percent were found. There were indications of a slight reduction in ''other'' assaults, a greater reduction in vandalism, and an even greater reduction in disorderly conduct: the effect of limiting legal access to alcohol increased with decreasing severity of the crime. Blood alcohol information from the Fatal (motor vehicle) Accident Reporting System was studied also. The proportion of killed drivers with blood alcohol decreased when legal access was limited. However, no relation between these decreases and decreases in arrests for the crimes studied was found across the states studied.