[[514]]

Of the recidivists 21.96% were habitual drunkards.[291]

New York (State), 1869–1870.

In his “Dangerous Classes of New York”, C. L. Brace states that in 1870, out of 49,423 criminals in the prisons of New York City there were 30,507 (61.6%) habitual drunkards, and 893 (81.6%) of the 1,093 prisoners in the Albany penitentiary in the years 1869–70 likewise were drunkards.[292]

R. L. Dugdale gives the following figures for the 233 criminals examined by him:[293]

Crimes. Percentage of Habitual Drunkards.
Theft from the person 55.00
Robbery 47.36
Crimes against persons 40.47
Theft 39.28
All crimes 39.05
Crimes against property 38.74
Burglary 33.33

Prussia, 1894–1897.

Out of 18,049 recidivists in the houses of correction in the years 1849–1897, there were 4,930 (27.3%) habitual drunkards, of whom 4,473 (28.7%) were men, and 457 (18.2%) were women.[294]

Sweden, 1887–1897.

Out of 27,452 inmates in the prisons during the years 1887–1897 there were 3,273 (11.9%) addicted to drink, of whom 3,101 (12.7%) were men and 99 (3.2%) women.[295] These figures, however, are below the reality, since only those are counted as alcoholics who were drunk at the time they committed the crime. When we take into consideration [[515]]that the number of criminals who were in a state of intoxication when they committed their crimes was 52.6%, we may be certain that a considerable number of them were habitual drunkards.