NCJ Number
125035
Date Published
1990
Length
77 pages
Annotation
An analysis of the total public cost of processing Driving Under the Influence (DUI) cases was performed for a sample of defendants in Alameda County, California.
Abstract
During a two-year project, 152 cases were tracked for up to 14 months postarrest, and public expense was monitored for each government agency which had any responsibility for processing any portion of each DUI case. Costs were gathered starting from the first point of contact, the arrest, and included costs for chemical analysis for any blood alcohol content, jailing a defendant, all court procedures, the District Attorney, the Public Defender, any court interpreters, probation, volunteer work programs, and State driver license actions. The total governmental mean case processing cost for the DUI defendant came to $1,108; the median was $649. The costliest components of processing are jail, jury trials, and other court costs. Recommendations include establishing a shorter, defendant fine repayment schedule and exploring the feasibility of housing low-risk DUI defendants in lower security facilities. 11 figures, 14 tables, appendix, bibliography.