For Drunk Driving, Is Prison Always The Answer?

On 10/07/2008, the Journal Sentinel reviewed all Milwaukee County criminal convictions for fifth-offense operating while intoxicated (aka drunk driving or OWI) from 1999 through 2006, resulting in a detailed analysis of 161 cases. Just 70 defendants, or 43%, went to prison, receiving an average sentence of 18 months. Seventeen of those had an opportunity to shave substantial time off their sentences by completing boot camp or a treatment program. At least one defendant got out early after petitioning the judge. More defendants were sentenced to probation than prison. Although 70 of the 71 who got probation terms served between three and 12 months in the Milwaukee County House of Correction, about half were allowed to spend their days in the community on work release. Twenty more defendants received jail sentences, 11 with work-release privileges. The blood-alcohol level of a drunken driver was consistently cited as an aggravating factor by sentencing judges.

My own research through a CCAP analysis showed that in other counties sentences vary widely:

Wisconsin Drunk Driving Penalties

COUNTY	JAIL	PRISON	PROBATION	CONDITION TIME
Dane	7.60%	28.74 %	61.69 %	61.30 %
Eau Claire	0 %	13.30 %	86.67 %	86.67 %
Brown	5.93 %	55.93 %	38.14 %	37.29 %
Waukesha	2.13 %	71.99 %	25.53 %	24.82 %

The entire drift of the article is that judges are wimps on drunk drivers. I would bet any amount that when the legislature comes back in January, they will make a 4th offense a felony and up the mandatory minimums on all offenses. It’s also likely they will make a 1st offense criminal - it is currently a civil forfeiture.

What’s wrong with this? It completely adopts the mind-set that prison/jail is the answer to combating drunk driving. Amazingly no one really notices that this MADDness that began in the 80's has failed utterly to stem drunk driving. Much like the War on Drugs - which has likewise failed to stem drug use - increasingly tough penalties on drunk driver’s has virtually no deterrent effect. We have recently begun to unwind the drug policies with new drug courts designed to facilitate treatment rather than merely punishment. When the media whips up hysteria like this way too long Journal-Sentinel series does, it is just stifling any move toward a real solution.