The relationship between alcohol or illegal drug use and criminal activity is
recognized as a serious social problem around the world and has been widely researched
worldwide. Even though there is no direct association between them, it can be suggested that
consuming large quantities of alcoholic beverages, for instance, is directly related to violent
crimes. However, other criminogenic factors must always be taken into consideration.
Alcohol, illegal drugs and crime may also be linked through shared complicating factors such
as personality issues and social disadvantages. The Brazilian penal system does not punish
individuals who, at the time of their crime, did not have the capacity to understand the
unlawfulness of their actions or to behave in accordance with this understanding. Voluntary or
culpable drunkenness does not exclude impunity, except in cases in which drunkenness is
accidental or is caused by force majeure. Psychiatrists are often called into court to give
testimony and offer opinions on the mental state of criminals who have committed crimes
under the influence of alcohol and other drug use. They evaluate the need for civil
intervention in cases in which the psychiatric and neurological consequences of alcoholic
consumption impair the civic duties or work capacity of individuals who drink, for instance.
In all these cases, it is imperative that the psychiatrist should have ample knowledge of the
penal codes and the detrimental effects of alcohol abuse. Recognition of the different
criminological aspects of the genesis of crime is an essential subject within clinical and
forensic contexts. Other than knowledge of the laws and penal codes, an integrated
understanding of the diverse aspects of criminology is also necessary, given that crime is a
multifactorial and complex phenomenon. This frequently impedes establishing a direct
association between crime, alcohol and illegal drug use.
