NCJ Number
107864
Date Published
1987
Length
38 pages
Annotation
This study, conducted from March through May 1987, used site visits to a random sample of nine Indiana counties to obtain information on enforcement and judicial activities pertaining to driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI).
Abstract
Of the 42,339 arrests in 1986, 87 percent were charged with drunk driving. Of the 31,840 cases for which a disposition was known, 99 percent were charged with DUI. Almost 91 percent were convicted of drunk driving. There were apparently few plea bargain agreements that produced convictions on lesser charges. Between 1984 (year of a new drunk driving law) and 1986, there was a 5-percent increase in statewide arrests for drunk driving. Adjudication of these arrests was similar in both years. The study recommends expanding anti-drunk driving programs and countermeasures from the large counties to other counties and greater diligence in obtaining and recording blood-alcohol levels for those arrested. A greater effort should be made to identify and bring felony charges against repeat DUI offenders, and special attention should be given to countering drunk driving by teenagers and females. 12 tables, 7 figures, and appended sampling procedures.