Research suggests that there are far more people driving impaired than arrested each year. Additional data supports that a person arrested for the first time for driving under the influence (DUI) or driving while impaired (DWI) may have driven many times impaired before getting caught. This report details a study that determined if there were common prior offenses among first-time DWI offenders, and to identify strategies that are used to address the identified offenses to determine if there are potential opportunities to expand those efforts to prevent impaired driving. Utilizing State-level criminal history data, statistical analyses reveal that between one-quarter to almost one-half of first-time DWI offenders in California, Florida, and New York were arrested for criminal or traffic offenses, prior to their arrest for DWI. Among those with prior arrest records, assault (including domestic assault), drug, theft, and traffic were the most frequently identified offenses. Criminal justice programs and strategies implemented by pretrial services agencies, the courts, and corrections agencies, as well as motor vehicle agency programming, were identified as potential areas in which to focus DWI prevention efforts among assault, drug, theft, and traffic offenders. Strategies that have proven effective in preventing DWI offenses that may be incorporated into existing criminal justice strategies include intensive community supervision, alcohol ignition interlock installation, substance abuse treatment, and DWI prevention education. (Author/publisher)
Abstract