Drunk and dangerous? Exploring the tenuous links among drunk driving, alcohol arrests, and firearm violence in an urban context

Recent research and policy discussions have focused on prohibiting individuals with repeat alcohol-related offenses from purchasing or possessing firearms. To expand on this work, we use linked administrative data from a cohort sample (n = 36,274) of Milwaukee, Wisconsin residents to assess the association between arrests for alcohol-related offenses and later involvement in gun violence as either a shooting suspect or victim. Findings suggest arrests for operating a vehicle while intoxicated and other alcohol-related offenses were associated with increased risk of firearm-related violence only in models that did not account for other forms of offending, while no association was observed after controlling for non-violent or violent arrest histories. Our findings suggest that alcohol-related offenses do not act as an efficient marker of future firearm violence risk in Milwaukee. Policies that restrict firearm purchase or possession based on alcohol-related offenses may therefore do little to address gun violence in urban contexts.