Alcohol Related Arrests among University Students: Patterns and Implications

Illegal alcohol consumption remains a major health concern on college and university campuses nationwide. Previous research has focused on efforts to reduce high-risk alcohol-related behaviors, most frequently from the perspective of intentional programming. Less seems to be known about the impact the criminal justice system (both on and off campus) and its sanctions have on the high-risk and illegal alcohol-related behaviors (i.e. underage consumption, underage intoxication) of college and university students. While some assumptions have been made that sanctions imposed by the criminal justice system (i.e. courts) for reducing high risk and illegal alcohol activity are ineffective, the purpose of this study was to utilize data from actual court dockets, with follow-up interviews, to determine the extent to which participation in the “criminal justice system” acts as a deterrent to repeat participation in illegal alcohol consumption offenses.

The dockets, beginning June 2007, for the court serving a rural, mid-size Midwestern university were reviewed each week and the specific items noted on the docket were recorded for each student who was charged with an alcohol-related offense. Once those data were recorded, a random sample of students who appeared on the docket were selected to participate in face-to-face interviews relative to their experience with the criminal justice system (both on and off campus). The data from the court dockets and subsequent interviews were analyzed to answer the following questions:

1. What, if any patterns exist relative to illegal alcohol-related arrests (i.e. do they occur on or off campus; do they occur over long week-ends or after exams; do they occur among selected sub-populations of students such as athletes or members of Greek organizations; are there concurrent charges such as assault and vandalism)?

2. What are the sanctions imposed?

3. What is the rate of repeat offenders and how do repeat offenders differ from those who are not?

4. What impact, if any, has the court's sanctions had on the individual's alcohol consumption patterns and how has that differed from the university's sanctions?

5. What could the university and/or the community do to further reduce the illegal use of alcohol?

Results highlight the effectiveness of the sanctions imposed by the criminal justice system (both on and off campus) in deterring future illegal alcohol-involvement. Furthermore, results will help determine where and when to focus enforcement efforts and other resources in reducing illegal alcohol related behaviors.