Prior research on the use of alcohol by police officers has shown that there are correlations between the officers' alcohol consumption and stress or social relationships within the police sub-culture. By looking at 1,328 full time officers from municipal, county, and state departments, the researchers found that there were correlations between these two reasons as in prior literature. Surprisingly, the officers drew a clear distinction between drinking alcohol as a social outlet and drinking alcohol to fit in with their peers. As a result, this study explains a third reason the officers used when consuming alcohol. The officers most at risk for drinking problems admitted that fitting in was highest on their list of why they drank alcohol.

Alcohol use by police officers in the United States is theorized to be double that of the general population, with 20% of those abusing alcohol. However, no known alcohol consumption study has been conducted within the United States. This study hoped to fill that void. Full time Mississippi officers from municipal, county, and state departments totaling 1,328, were asked to complete a 27-item questionnaire containing the World Health Organization's Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test instrument to determine alcohol use and risk. The researcher found no difference in use by Mississippi officers and the general public. Moreover, the researcher identified the officers most at risk for alcohol problems.

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The findings of the hospital data and the coroners' reports were consistent with each other in terms of providing confirmation that alcohol is still the drug associated with the greatest level of road trauma on South Australian roads. Furthermore, alcohol was also present in around half of the cannabis cases and, when present, tended to be present at very high levels. The results of this study emphasize that, although drug driving is clearly a problem, the most important form of impaired driving that needs to be the target of enforcement is drink driving. Roadside drug testing is important but should not be conducted in such a way that reduces the deterrent value of random breath testing.

Purpose -Popular literature has theorized that police officers consume more alcohol than the general population. However, only a minuscule amount of research has been conducted on this phenomenon. The perceived consumption of police in the USA has been related to stress or social camaraderie issues, a dichotomous debate which has continued for years. This study seeks to enhance the debate by addressing the reported reasoning that police officers' use of alcohol is related to location, type of department, and size of population in which the officer operates. Design/methodology/approach -A total of 1,328 full-time Mississippi Municipal, Sheriff, and State police officers were asked to complete a 27-item self-reported questionnaire containing the World Health Organization's AUDIT instrument to determine alcohol use and risk. Findings -Most of the officers surveyed reported drinking levels of alcohol equivalent to those reported in the general population. Moreover, 70 percent of the officers either abstained from alcohol or drank less than once a month. This study found no difference in the motivation to consume alcohol as it related to location, type of department or population size. However, the study did find that a true dichotomy over the stress and social debate does not actually exist. The researchers found a third factor that police reported for consuming alcohol. Originality/value -Given the opportunity the researchers had, surveying after Hurricane Katrina, their finding no difference in the homogeneity in the state reassured the researchers that environmental stressors were not associated with the alcohol consumption of officers.