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Relationship between Alcoholism and Crime over the Life Course

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Drugs, Crime, and Other Deviant Adaptations

Abstract

Two facts have colored perceptions of the role alcohol plays in producing crimes. First, the rise of modern criminology accompanied movement toward the prohibition of drinking alcoholic beverages. Second, drinking often accompanies criminal incidents either because crimes occur where victims are drinking or because criminals had been drinking at the time they committed crimes.

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McCord, J. (1995). Relationship between Alcoholism and Crime over the Life Course. In: Kaplan, H.B. (eds) Drugs, Crime, and Other Deviant Adaptations. Longitudinal Research in the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0970-1_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0970-1_5

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