Focusing DWI Sanctions The Myth of First Offenders

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Focusing DWI SanctionsThe Myth of First
Offenders

• Richard Roth, PhD
• Executive Director, Impact DWI
• Citizen Lobbyist and Research Consultant
• Supported by PIRE, NHTSA, RWJ, and NM TSB
• RichardRoth2300_at_msn.com, 471-4764,
  www.impactdwi.org

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Myths

• First DWI Arrest is First DWI
• First Offenders have a low probability of
  recidivism.
• A slap on the wrist is sufficient sanction.
• Second Offenders are much worse than first
  offenders.

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The Percentage of First Offenders Depends on
Look-back Time
75 were First in 5 years
59 were First in 20 years
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The Majority of DWIs Are First Offenders

• To Reduce Recidivism, You cannot ignore First
  Offenders

• To Reduce First Offenders, General Deterrence
  Prevention

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No Priors
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Distribution of Offenders by Priors and Alcohol
ProblemsA small (N70) Anonymous Survey of DWI
Offenders
Average 606 times
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Facts About First Offenders

• The largest group of re-arrested DWI offenders
  have only one prior conviction.
• First Offenders admit driving drunk many times
  before arrest.
• First Offense Sanctions offer the best
  opportunity to change DWI behavior.
• Interlocks cost-effectively offer the needed
  behavior-modification treatment.

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So I recommend

• On Any Conviction for DWI, Mandate 1 or more
  years of interlock (or Sobrieter for those who
  claim no car or not driving).
• Or even better..
• On Any Arrest for DWI, Declare the Vehicle a
  Hazard to the Public and Mandate Immobilization
  until vehicle is made safe by installation of
  Interlock.

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NM First DWI Conviction Study

• Time Period First Convictions between January
  2003 and December 2005.
• Treatment Group 1461 First Offenders who
  installed interlocks within 90 days of
  conviction.
• Comparison Group 17,562 First Offenders who did
  not install interlocks.
• Cox Multivariate Proportional Hazards Regression
  (Gender, Age, BAC,Group)

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Most First Offender Interlocks were installed for
only 3 months
Installation duration for the 943 interlocks that
were removed before the end of the study.
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Interlocked First Offenders Have 62 Less
Recidivism.
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After Removal Those Who Were Interlocked Still
Have a 19 Lower Recidivism Ratebut N is not
large enough for it to be statistically
significant. Hazard Ratio 0.81, p0.16, in a
multivariate regression.
A hint that bad actors DWI right after removal
I hope this is not just a statistical
fluctuation. Time will tell.
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For 3 years following interlock installation,
Those first offenders who installed mandated
interlocks had lower recidivism.
H.R. 0.61 P lt 0.001
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Interlocks are Effective with Court Mandated
Offenders
Comparison Groups Interlocked Groups
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Interlocks are Effective with Volunteers
ie. Not court-mandated
Comparison Groups Interlocked Groups
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Before Interlocks
After Interlocks
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So Interlocks are very effective at reducing
re-arrests of First Offenders
BUT ?
HOW CAN WE REDUCE FIRST OFFENDERS

• The General Deterrent Effect of Sanctions
• Anti-DWI Advertising
• Prevention Programs
• Interlocks for High Risk Groups
• Inexpensive, Passive Interlocks in all cars

The End
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