Evaluation of a Drinking-Driver Rehabilitation Program for First Offenders (From Crime and Criminal Justice: Criminological Research in the 2nd Decade at the Max Planck Institute in Freiburg, P 319-336, 1988, Gunther Kaiser and Isolde Geissler, eds. -- See NCJ-116131)

• NCJ Number: 116142
• Author(s): A Rosner
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 18 pages
• Sale Source: Max-Planck-Institute Fur Auslandisches und Internationales Strafrecht
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: West Germany (Former)

Annotation

Rehabilitation programs for first-time drunk driver offenders were studied by West Germany's Max Planck Institute from August 1981 through June 1982.

Abstract

The 420 male program participants and the 47 male applicants studied had been convicted of driving under the influence (DUI). A random sample of 1,330 male DUI offenders with no previous convictions was taken from a 1979 DUI offender population. The recidivism rate of study participants was examined over a 2.5-year period. Repeated offenses were categorized as a new DUI offense, other driving offenses, and recidivism in the area of general criminality. The recidivism rate for new DUI offenses was 5.2 percent. The recidivism rate for the 1979 comparison sample of DUI first offenders without a criminal record was 7.3 percent. Of all recidivism predictors studied, particularly relevant predictors proved to be age, the amount of time the driver held a license, and previous driving experience. Marked differences emerged between participants and the comparison sample when differentiating according to age. Participants over 40 years were less prone to recidivism than their contemporaries in the comparison sample (3.3 percent versus 5.8 percent). It is recommended that variables such as those included in this study be given greater consideration when planning rehabilitation studies for DUI offenders and conducting evaluative research. 19 references, 7 figures.