Removing the High From the Highways: The Impact of Virginia's Efforts To Combat Drug-Related DUI

• NCJ Number: 149913
• Author(s): J D Jernigan
• Date Published: 1992
• Length: 26 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: University of Virginia; Virginia Dept of Transportation; Virginia Dept of Motor Vehicles
• Corporate Author: Virginia Transportation Research Council
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services; Virginia Transportation Research Council
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Final Report

Annotation

Beginning in 1988, Virginia law gave police officers the authority to order an individual suspected of drug-related DUI to submit a blood sample for drug testing.

Abstract

At the same time, the State implemented a pilot Drug Recognition Technician (DRT) program to train police officers to detect the signs of impairment consistent with the use of seven types of illicit drugs; officers participate in 56 hours of classroom instruction and 40 hours of field training. This study evaluated the impact of both measures on the number of arrests and convictions for drug-related DUI between 1988 and 1990. The results showed that, while drug-related DUI arrests increased in 1988, they declined somewhat in 1989 and 1990. Nonetheless, the conviction rates for drug-related DUI remained stable. If blood tests showed the presence of an illicit drug, the conviction rate ranged from 40 percent to 70 percent; with no evidence of drugs, the DUI conviction rate was less than 25 percent. While the DRT program helped to increase arrests for drug-related DUI, there was no parallel increase in the number of convictions. 11 tables and 16 references