© 2005 Behavioral Health Research Institute of the Southwest
612 Encino Place NE / Albuquerque, NM 87102 / 505.244.3099 / www.bhrcs.org

Drinking, Driving, and Drugs:
A Comparative Study of Juvenile Substance Abuse Offenders
in Bernalillo County, NM
By Nancy Owen Lewis, Ph.D. and Iyiin Chang, M.S.

6. OFFENSE HISTORY

Prior Referrals.

The referral history of all three groups was examined. Nearly 58% of offenders had at least one referral prior to the study period. Seventeen percent had four or more referrals. Although not statistically significant, DWI offenders averaged 2.1 prior referrals, compared with 1.8 prior referrals for the drug offenders and 1.77 for the alcohol group. In addition, 31.4% of DWI offenders had three or more referrals, compared with 25.4% of alcohol offenders and 22.5% of drug offenders.

Prior Offenses.

The offense history for each group was also analyzed (Tables 26-27). Offenses were classified into one of the following five categories (see appendix for description): 1) substance abuse, 2) conduct, 3) property, 4) offenses against persons, and 5) other. The most common prior offenses for all three groups were property offenses. Approximately 42% of drug offenders, 40.7% of alcohol offenders, and 33.1% of DWI offenders had at least one prior referral for a property offense.

Substance abuse, the second most common prior offense for DWI offenders (31.4%), was the least common for alcohol (17.1%) and drug offenders (16.1%). The most common substance abuse offense for all three groups, however, were drug offenses. Over 18% of DWI offenders, and 12.1% of alcohol and drug offenders had a prior drug referral. Statistically significant differences existed among the three groups in terms of prior substance abuse (p<.01) and other (p<.05) offenses. Only 18.1% of drug offenders had prior "other offenses," compared with 24.3% of alcohol offenders and 25.4% of the DWI offenders. A significantly higher percentage (p<.01) of DWI offenders had prior DWIs and alcohol offenses than the other two groups. More specifically, 6.8% of DWI offenders had prior DWIs compared with 1% of alcohol and drug offenders. Similarly, 16.1% of DWI offenders had prior alcohol offenses compared with 6.8% of alcohol offenders and 5.9% for drug offenders.

Table 26.
Prior Offenses

Table 27.
Prior Substance Abuse Offenses

Offenses by Age and Offender Group.

Compared with drug and alcohol offenders, a significantly higher percentage of DWI offenders were in the 16-17 age bracket and would have had a longer opportunity to offend than the other two groups. To compensate for these differences, referrals were examined for those offenders (N=1090) for whom a complete offense history was available through age 17. Offenders who were under 17 years of age on 6/30/97 (N=428) were not included. This analysis encompassed referrals made prior (<7/94), during (7/94-6/95), and after the study period (7/95-6/97). Total offenses for each offender were analyzed according to offender age at the time of referral, regardless of whether the referral was made prior (<7/94), during, (7/94-6/95) or after the study period (7/95-6/97). Ages were grouped into three categories, as follows:

1. < 14 years old (N=299 or 15.7%)

There were no statistically significant differences among the three offender groups.

Substance abuse offenses. Approximately 14% of offenders in this age group had at least one referral for a substance abuse offense.

Conduct offenses. Approximately 20% of offenders had at least one referral for a conduct offense.

Property offenses. Nearly 71% of offenders had been referred for at least one property offense.

Offenses against persons. Approximately 37% of offenders had been referred for a crime against a person.

Other offenses. Approximately 21% of offenders had been referred for at least one "other offense."

2. 14-15 year-olds (697 or 36.7%)

Substance abuse offenses. Nearly 70% of offenders in this age group had at least one substance abuse referral. Approximately 74% of drug offenders had a substance abuse referral – compared to only 55% of DWI offenders (p<.01).

Conduct offenses. Approximately 30% of offenders had been referred for at least one conduct offense. There were no statistically significant differences among the three offender groups.

Property offenses. Nearly 49% of offenders had at least one property offense. However, only 30% of DWI offenders were referred for property offenses, compared with 48.6% of alcohol offenders and 51.3% of drug offenders (p<.01).

Offenses against persons. Nearly 29% of offenders had been referred for an offense against persons. There were no statistically significant differences among the three offender groups.

Other offenses. Approximately 36% of offenders were referred for an "other offense." There were no statistically significant differences among the three offender groups.

3. 16-17-year olds

Substance abuse offenses. Eighty-nine percent of offenders in this age group had a least one referral for a substance abuse offense. A smaller percentage of drug offenders had substance abuse referrals – 85.0% compared with 92.3% for alcohol offenders and 95.1% for DWI offenders (p<.01).

Conduct offenses. Nearly 28% of offenders had at least one referral for a conduct offense. There were no statistically significant differences among the three groups.

Property offenses. Approximately 33% of offenders had a property offense. A higher percentage of drug offenders had at least one property offense – 38.8% compared with 29.7% of alcohol offenders and 24.5% of DWI offenders (p<.01).

Offenses against persons. Approximately 26% of offenders had a referral for an offense against persons. A higher percentage of drug offenders had an offense against persons – 30.2% compared with 23% of the drug and alcohol offenders.

Other offenses. Forty-nine percent had at least one "other" referral. A higher percentage of DWI offenders had referrals for other offenses – 83.3% compared with 40.9% of the alcohol offenders and 47.8% of the drug offenders (p<.01).