From: Nigel.Allen@bbs.oit.unc.edu (Nigel Allen)
Subject: Prior Records Common Among Drunk Drivers, Reports BJS
Organization: NDA
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1992 04:21:38 GMT

Here is a press release from the U.S. Justice Department.

 Prior Records Common Among Drunk Drivers, Reports BJS
 To: National Desk
 Contact: Stu Smith of the Office of Justice Programs,
          U.S. Department of Justice, 202-307-0784 or
          301-983-9354 (after hours)


   WASHINGTON, Sept. 30  -- More than half of the people 
in local jails on driving-while-intoxicated (DWI) charges 
in 1989 had prior sentences to jail or prison for drunk
driving, according to a Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) study
released today.
  The bureau, a Department of Justice agency in the Office of
Justice Programs, reported that about one in six had served at least
three such prior DWI sentences in a jail or prison.
   During 1989, more than 1.7 million drivers were arrested for
driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (DUI), and between
1980 and 1989 the number of arrests for DUI increased almost
22 percent, whereas the number of licensed drivers grew by about
14 percent.
   DUI is the general term for drivers operating a vehicle under the
influence of alcohol or drugs.  The BJS study concentrated on jail
inmates charged with driving while intoxicated from alcohol and
refers to them as DWI offenders.
   "Jailed drunk drivers were found to have an extensive history of
abusive drinking and chronic contact with the criminal justice
sstem," commented BJS Director Steven D. Dillingham.
   "The study also found that DUI arrest rates for drivers under 21
years old dropped substantially during the last decade," Dillingham
noted.  "The 1989 DUI arrest rate for drivers 16 and 17 years old was
25 percent lower than their 1980 rate, and drivers 18 through 20
years of age had a 9 percent lower arrest rate than in 1980."
   Almost half of the people confined on DWI charges who were
interviewed in jail were already on probation or parole or in some
other criminal justice status for a DWI or other criminal offense at
the time of their arrest.  About one-third of them were on probation
from an earlier criminal conviction.
   Half of the people in jail who had been convicted of DWI charges
were estimated to have consumed at least six ounces of alcohol (about
equal to the amount of alcohol in 12 bottles of beer) in a five-hour
period.  About 29 percent said they had consumed 11 ounces or more of
alcohol (approximately equal to 22 bottles of beer) before their
arrest.
   More than half of the inmates charged with or convicted of DWI
described themselves as alcoholics.  Forty-four percent of the
alcoholic DWI offenders reported that they usually drank alcoholic
beverages daily and almost 80 percent reported having participated in
an alcohol treatment program.
   The findings are based on data from interviews with a nationally
representative sample of 5,675 inmates in 424 jails during the summer
of 1989.  As of June 30 of that year there were about 395,000 people
in 3,312 local jails throughout the country.
   Other significant survey results:
   -- During the 1980-1989 period the number of DUI arrests per
capita grew by almost 7 percent -- from 982 per 100,000 licensed
drivers to 1,049.
   -- About 9 percent of all people in local jails on June 30, 1989,
were charged with or had been convicted of DWI offenses, and of this
group, 86 percent had a prior sentence to probation, jail or prison
for a DWI or other criminal offense.
   -- Of the convicted DWI offenders, 61 percent said they had been
drinking only beer, 18 percent only liquor and 2 percent only wine.
Twenty percent said they had been drinking more than one type of
alcohol.
   -- Almost a third of the jailed DWI offenders said they had been
drinking with others in a bar, tavern or inn before their arrest and
about a quarter said they had been drinking at a friend's house.
About one in nine said they had been drinking alone at home or in
their vehicle.
   The study also examined the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of
the jailed drivers measured by the number of grams of pure alcohol
present in 100 milliliters of blood.  It estimated that DWI offenders
in jail averaged 0.21 grams at the time of arrest, compared to an
average of 0.16 grams for drinking drivers involved in fatal
accidents during 1989.
   Fifty percent of the DWI offenders sent to jail were sentenced to
six months or less.  Among first-time DWI offenders, half received
sentences of 115 days or fewer.  For offenders with two or more prior
DWI convictions, half were sentenced to 181 days or fewer.
   The survey also found substantial differences in the racial and
ethnic composition of DWI defendants compared to other jail inmates.
Of the jail inmates charged with a DWI offense, 67.7 percent were
white non-Hispanics, 8.2 percent were black non-Hispanics,
19.5 percent Hispanics and 4.6 percent were from other groups,
including Asians, Pacific Islanders, American Indians and Alaskan
natives.  Of the jail inmates charged with other offenses, 36 percent
were white non-Hispanics, 45 percent black non-Hispanics,
16.9 percent Hispanics and 2.1 percent were from other backgrounds.
   Single copies of the special report, "Drunk Driving, 1989 Survey
of Inmates of Local Jails" (NCJ-134728), may be obtained from the
Bureau of Justice Statistics Clearinghouse, Box 6000, Rockville, Md.,
20850.  The telephone number is 1-800-732-3277.
 -30-
(end of press release)
 
Comments from NDA: Better, more reliable, safer transit, including
all-night services, would reduce the amount of drunk driving by 
giving people with a substance abuse problem a chance to get home
safely and cheaply. There may be a lot of noisy drunks on the
Yonge Street night bus in Toronto at 2 a.m., but at least they aren't 
driving home.

 
--
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     North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Campus Office for Information
        Technology, or the Experimental Bulletin Board Service.
           internet:  bbs.oit.unc.edu or 152.2.22.80
Xref: sparky misc.legal:17841 alt.politics.correct:5549 soc.college:4005 sci.econ:7855