© 2005 Behavioral Health Research Institute of the Southwest
612 Encino Place NE / Albuquerque, NM 87102 / 505.244.3099 / www.bhrcs.org

Randomized Sanctions to Reduce
Drunk Driving Recidivism
Funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

BHRCS is working with a circuit court in Oregon to determine how to best deal with repeat DWI offenders. Offenders will be randomly assigned to four groups, each given a different set of sanctions. Equipped with the results of this study, scientists, and judicial officials will better understand which sanctions work and which do not.

The proposed study is a prospective, randomized comparison of the efficacy of different sanctions for reducing recidivism among repeat drunk driving offenders arraigned in the Circuit Court, State of Oregon for Multnomah County (the Court). The study will test components of an existing sentencing-and-monitoring program for DWI offenders. The four intervention groups will receive the following sanctions, plus jail time, treatment, and license revocation:

1. Electronic monitoring with breath testing, plus intensive probation
2. Required sale of all offender-owned motor vehicles, plus intensive probation
3. Electronic monitoring with breath testing, plus required sale of all offender-owned motor vehicles, plus intensive probation
4. Intensive probation alone

Any repeat offender is eligible to participate if s/he has not been convicted for a violent crime. The hypothesis is that Group 3 participants will have the lowest recidivism rates.

RANDOMIZED SANCTIONS TO REDUCE
DRUNK DRIVING RECIDIVISM

The proposed study is a prospective, randomized comparison of the efficacy of different sanctions for reducing recidivism among repeat driving under the influence of intoxicants (DWI) offenders arraigned in the Circuit Court, State of Oregon for Multnomah County (the Court). The study will test components of an existing sentencing/monitoring program for DWI offenders.  The four intervention groups will receive the following sanctions plus jail time, treatment, and license revocation. 

• Group 1: Electronic monitoring with breath testing + intensive probation
• Group 2: Required sale of all offender-owned motor vehicles + intensive probation;
• Group 3: Electronic monitoring with breath testing + required sale of all offender-owned motor vehicles + intensive probation;
• Group 4: Intensive probation alone.  All repeat offenders will be eligible to participate if they have not been convicted for violent crimes.

The hypothesis is that Group 3 participants will have the lowest recidivism rates.  Outcome measures include whether the offender violates probation, number of probation violations, arrests for DUII, other traffic violations, and traffic crashes in the 2 years following randomization and sentencing. Outcomes of study participants also will be compared with those of a suitable comparison group arraigned by different judges in the Portland, OR, area who typically do not sentence offenders to electronic monitoring with breath testing, require sale of their vehicle, or sentence offenders to intensive probation.  In the quasi-experimental study, traffic outcomes of 2nd and above DWI offenders will be compared with those of study participants.  For the randomized study, participants will be interviewed at baseline, and 1 and 2 years after randomization.  Within-group comparisons will be drawn between baseline and post-intervention study variables for alcohol and drug use and consequences, drinking and driving behavior and attitudes, symptoms of psychiatric problems, and prosocial behaviors. Finally, the process will be evaluated to monitor the interventions and to enable replication of the protocol in other jurisdictions.  Study results will have significant implications for determining optimal sanctions and sentencing procedures for repeat offenders.