1. Main findings

  • The Home Office currently measures drug-related homicides as any case involving a drug user or drug dealer, or that is related to drugs in any way using record-level data from the Home Office Homicide Index.

  • Further analysis of these data explored applying the Goldstein tripartite framework to further categorise "drug-related" homicides as systemic, economic compulsive, and/or psychopharmacological; drug-related homicides that did not meet the criteria for the three groups were defined as having an ambiguous link to drugs.

  • Data from the Home Office Homicide Index shows that between April 2018 and March 2023, there were 3,148 homicides recorded by the police, 1,627 of which were drug-related (52%) according to the current definition of drug-related homicide.

  • Out of these 1,627 drug-related homicides, 838 homicides could be categorised as systemic, economic compulsive, and/or psychopharmacological (27% of all homicides), with a further 789 homicides having an ambiguous link to drugs (25% of all homicides).

  • In the year ending March 2023, 144 (24% of all homicides) met the criteria for one or more of these categories; 86 homicides were systemic (15% of all homicides), 24 were economic compulsive (4% of all homicides), 66 were psychopharmacological (11% of all homicides), with a further 166 homicides (28%) having an ambiguous link to drugs.

Nôl i'r tabl cynnwys

2. Overview

The Office for National Statistics's (ONS's) annual Homicide in England and Wales report publishes various measures on drug-related homicides, including the number and proportion of homicides that involve drug users or dealers or are related to drugs in any way. These figures are based on analyses of information held on the Home Office Homicide Index, which contains detailed record-level information about each homicide recorded by the police in England and Wales. The ONS publication is designated as National Statistics.

The Home Office definition of a drug-related homicide is broad. It includes any case where the police believed the victim or suspect was an illegal drug user or dealer; had taken a drug; had motive to obtain drugs or steal drug proceeds; or where the case was otherwise marked as drug-related.

Between April 2018 and March 2023, there were 3,148 homicides in England and Wales recorded in the Home Office Homicide Index, 1,627 (52%) of which fell under the Home Office definition of a drug-related homicide.

In the year ending March 2023, 310 homicides, or 53% of homicides, were drug related according to this definition.

In order to better understand the nature of drug-related homicide and trends over time, this analysis applied a widely used framework for understanding how illicit drug use drives homicide developed by Goldstein (1985) to Home Office Homicide Index data. The Home Office's trends and drivers of homicide research report reviewed the literature on drugs as a driver of homicide trends, with most of the 45 studies identified in the review referencing Goldstein (1985). This framework was therefore identified as the most suitable method to develop our understanding of drug-related homicide.

Goldstein outlines three main types of drug-related homicide.

Systemic homicides

Systemic homicides are those arising from the fact that prohibition of drugs creates an illegal market, in which grievances cannot be reconciled through normal judicial channels, so they may be settled through violence. For example, homicides resulting from disputes over drug-selling territory, hierarchy enforcement and punishment for failing to pay debts would all fall into this category.

Economic compulsive homicides

Economic compulsive homicides arise if illicit drug users have to steal to fund their drug use. As a result, it is possible that a homicide may occur in the act of robbery or burglary.

Psychopharmacological homicides

Psychopharmacological homicides occur as a result of the psychological effects that drugs have on those who take them, such as increased aggression or disinhibition. Goldstein argues this may make people more likely to be victims or perpetrators of homicide.

Nôl i'r tabl cynnwys

4. Data source and framework

Home Office Homicide Index

Data presented have been extracted from the Home Office Homicide Index, which contains detailed record-level information about each homicide recorded by police in England and Wales. The Home Office Homicide Index is an administrative dataset and, therefore, the accuracy of the categories depends on the availability of relevant information. The Home Office Homicide Index is updated as new information becomes available, so historical data is subject to change in later editions of the publication. Further information on the data source is available.

The option to mark homicides as organised crime group (OCG) or county lines related was introduced on 1 April 2021. Homicides that have been marked by forces as related to OCG or county lines are included in the systemic homicide category. This has had a minimal impact on the volume of cases in the systemic category. Since 1 April 2021, two additional cases have been labelled systemic because of the county lines variable and because of the OCG variable. Other cases marked as OCG and/or county lines related in the Home Office Homicide Index also met other systemic criteria so would already have been labelled as such.

It is important to note that like the Home Office's definition of drug-related homicide, this analysis relies on variables in the Home Office Homicide Index rather than reviews of case files. In 691 homicides (22% of all cases) recorded between April 2018 and March 2023, a suspect had not been charged at the time of analysis. Many of the variables used to develop the criteria for Goldstein's framework require suspects, so once more suspects are charged, additional cases may meet the criteria for Goldstein's framework.

Table 2 shows the breakdown of suspects in different types of homicides. All cases labelled economic compulsive and/or psychopharmacological have a suspect because of the variables used to develop their inclusion criteria. Some of the variables used to create the systemic category also require a suspect. These are: suspect and victim are both known illegal drug dealers; suspect was a dealer with motive to obtain drugs or steal drug proceeds; suspect was a dealer and the main method of the homicide was shooting; victim's relationship to the suspect was criminal associate; and suspect was part of a gang. Once more suspects are charged, it is likely that additional homicides will be marked as systemic, economic compulsive, and/or psychopharmacological.

Goldstein’s tripartite framework

Goldstein's tripartite framework is based on three separate empirical investigations undertaken in New York City between 1976 and 1984. These involved interviews with sixty women about the link between sex work and drugs; an ethnographic study of the economic behaviour of 201 street opiate users; and a study of the relationship between drugs and violence.

Goldstein (1985) provides a tripartite framework for more focused understanding of drug-related homicides, which is commonly used in research into the topic. This includes the European Homicide Monitor, who uses it to categorise drug-related homicides across Europe. Moreover, the Home Office's Trends and drivers of homicide research report surveyed the literature on drugs as a driver of homicide trends. Most of the 45 studies identified in the systematic search referenced Goldstein (1985). We therefore identified it as the most suitable method to develop our understanding of drug-related homicide.

The approach has been criticised for being outdated, lacking relevance outside the specific New York City context in which Goldstein's original research took place, and in need of refinement to consider the range of factors that influence the connection between drug use and crime. However, it remains the prevailing theory used to understand drug-related homicide and can provide useful insights about homicides that fall under the Home Office's existing definition.

Nôl i'r tabl cynnwys

5. Glossary

Drug-related homicide

The Home Office definition of a drug-related homicide includes any offence where any of the following variables are positive: victim illegal drug user; victim illegal drug dealer; suspect illegal drug user; suspect illegal drug dealer; victim has taken a drug; suspect has taken a drug; suspect had motive to obtain drugs; suspect had motive to steal drug proceeds; drug-related.

Homicide suspects

For the purposes of the Homicide Index, a suspect in a homicide case is defined as either a person who has been charged with a homicide offence, including those who were subsequently convicted and those awaiting trial, or a person who is suspected by the police of having committed the offence, but is known to have died or committed suicide. This analysis is based on the principal suspect only.

Nôl i'r tabl cynnwys

7. Cite this article

Office for National Statistics (ONS), released 8 February 2024, ONS website, methodology, Measuring drug-related homicide methodology: February 2024

Nôl i'r tabl cynnwys

Manylion cyswllt ar gyfer y Methodoleg

Nick Stripe
crimestatistics@ons.gov.uk
Ffôn: +44 2075 928695