Rehabilitative Sanctions for Drunk Driving: an Experimental Evaluation

Abstract

Under the Tennessee DWI Probation Follow-up Demonstration Project, 4,126 per sons arrested for drunk driving (DWI) in Memphis were classified as either social or problem driners and were randomly assigned to one of the following treatments: control, probation supervision, education/therapy, or supervision plus education/therapy. Each client was followed up for at least two years after referral to the project. It was concluded that the treatment programs were not effective in reducing rearrests for DWI or for other misdemeanors and felonies. Arguments can be made that the treatment programs were inapproppriate for many of the project's clients. However, strong arguments can also be made that any such experiments, re gardless of the treatments tested, are unlikely to produce significant treatment ef fects because of other aspects of the sanctioning process.