Respondents to the National Crime Victimization Survey reported that a decreasing share of violent crime was attributable to offenders who had been drinking alcoholic beverages. Estimates from 1993 indicate that about 34 percent of the 10.5 million violent crimes had been committed by a drinking offender; in 1998, an estimated 30 percent of the 8.1 million violent crimes were attributed by victims to drinking offenders. The decrease in violent victimization involving a drinking offender accounted for half of the total decrease in the number of violent crimes over the 6-year period. Alcohol use by the offender was most often reported by victims of violence in those incidents in which victim and offender shared an intimate partner relationship. Simple assault was the type of violent crime most often attributed to a drinking offender. Alcohol offenders were as likely as non-drinking offenders to have used a weapon in the offense. State prisoner survey data revealed that approximately one in four inmates could be classified as alcohol-dependent. Tables, notes, sources, appendix