NCJ Number
150273
Journal
Alcohol, Drugs and Driving Volume: 10 Issue: 2 Dated: (April-June 1994) Pages: 127-134
Date Published
1994
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Minnesota's law requiring the impoundment and destruction of the license plates of the vehicles of offenders arrested a third or subsequent time for drunk driving was evaluated with respect to its effect on recidivism.
Abstract
The law was administered through the court system from August 1988 through December 1990. It was then amended to parallel the State's administrative per se law; the arresting officer now issues the impoundment order at the time of arrest. The research used a quasi-experimental design to compare groups that received no order with those that received an order from a judge or a police officer or through the mail from the Department of Public Safety. Results revealed that during the court-based phase of the law, the judge's impoundment had no significant impact on violator recidivism. After the law became administrative, violators who received impoundment orders recidivated significantly less than those who did not. Findings suggested that license plate impoundment is a practical countermeasure that can help reduce the problem of driving under the influence. Figures, tables, and 9 references