n or woman" ( Lang 23). When teens see adults drink heavily and movie stars on screen getting drunk, the message that gets through is that "it's cool to drink" which is the wrong one to be sending. Almost one half (47.9 %) of seniors drink alcohol at least once a month 19.8 % drink at least once a week. Nearly one third (30.7%) of ninth graders drink some kind of alcohol monthly or more often 12% drink at least once a week. Thirteen (13.2%) of seventh graders and 6.6% of sixth graders drink alcohol regularly. Regular use of alcohol has no changed significantly since the first survey in 1989. (Casey 1). Crime is inextricably related to alcohol and other drugs (AOD). More than 1.1 million annual arrests for illicit drug violations, almost 1.4 million arrests for driving while intoxicated, 480,000 arrests for liquor law violations and 704,000 arrests for drunkenness come to a total of 4.3 million arrests for alcohol and other drug statutory crimes. That total accounts for over one-third of all arrests in this country. ( Lang 33) The impaired judgment and violence induced by alcohol contribute to alcohol-related crime. Rapes, fights, and assaults leading to injury, manslaughter, and homicide often are linked with alcohol because the perpetrator, the victim, or both were drinking. The economic cost of AOD-related crime is $61.8 billion annually. Many perpetrators of violent crime were also using illicit drugs. Some of these drugs, such as PCP and steroids, may induce violence. These drugs can also be a catalyst for aggressive-prone individuals who exhibit violent behavior as a result of taking them. The need for preventing alcohol and other drug problems is clear when the following statistics are examined: Alcohol is a key factor in up to 68 percent of manslaughters, 62 percent of assaults, 54 percent of murders/attempted murders, 48 percent of robberies, and 44 percent of burglaries. among jail inmates, 42.2 percent of those convicted of ra...
