NCJ Number
86231
Date Published
1979
Length
42 pages
Annotation
The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze the judicial counter-measure of the Fairfax ASAP.
Abstract
It provides a short history of the changes in judicial policy, and it focuses on three (3) questions. The first of these relates to the screening function. Did the courts utilize ASAP to capacity? Approximately 50 percent of those who appeared before the court were referred to ASAP. Referrals were generally consistent with judicial policies to limit participation to non-recidivists with BACs less than .23 percent. As ASAP backlogs were reduced, referrals directly to treatment were gradually reduced and ASAP referrals increased. Just over 1700 persons were referred to ASAP by the courts during 1976. The second question was whether the dispositions for those who participated in the program were less severe than were the dispositions of non-participants. This was clearly the case. Those who completed ASAP were less likely to be convicted DWI than non-participants. Specific penalties such as fines, days of jail and days of operators license loss were also related to screening. ASAP participants and those referred directly to treatment had lower penalties than those referred and ASAP clients who dropped the program. Higher penalties were also associated with higher BACs. Only one demographic characteristic was consistently related to lower penalties. Women tended to receive lower fines, few days of jail and fewer days of license loss. One interesting finding was that those who refused the test was not significantly related to receiving a reduced charge. In fact a higher proportion of refusals in each category were convicted DWI. The third question concerned the time lapse between various stages of the process. Reduction times were found in 1976 and believed to be a response to judicial policy that imposed time limits on returns to court. (NTIS abstract)