The Victim Impact Panel (VIP) is a group of three or four speakers who were seriously injured or whose loved one was killed in a DWI crash. They present their personal stories to DWI offenders who are ordered by the court to attend the VIP. The primary goal of the VIP is to reduce DWI recidivism. This study compares the pre-panel DWI rates with the post-panel recidivism rates of over two thousand DWI offenders who attended the VIPs in Oregon and California, and also compares these rates to the rates of age-sex matched control groups of drivers. The control subjects were convicted of DWI in the same states at the same time period, but were not ordered to attend the VIP. In addition pre- and post-panel DWI convictions are also studied for 683 drivers who were ordered to attend the VIP but failed to do so (No-Shows). The results show that, although in Oregon the VIP attendees had a lower rate of recidivism than their matched control group, the recidivism rate of the attendees was not different than that of either those who were ordered by the court to attend the VIP, but failed to do so (No-Shows), or the age-sex matched control group for the No-Shows. In California no differences were observed in recidivism rates between the VIP group and either the no-show group or the two control groups. More focused analyses singling out specific age groups and distinguishing males from females indicated that the VIP may be an effective tool for the more mature offenders (those 35+ years old). Explanations for failure to find more pervasive effects of the VIP and suggestions for improvement of the process are offered. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting