NCJ Number
108358
Date Published
1983
Length
207 pages
Annotation
This report points out that many State legislatures have modified their laws to facilitate drunk driving convictions and to increase penalties, and it focuses on application of harsher penalties to youths.
Abstract
The research revealed that many new mandatory jail laws were being enforced regardless of offender age. It found that arrests per 100,000 juveniles for drunk driving have risen steadily since 1971, that court referred youths who attend alcohol treatment programs designed for adults typically do not change their drinking-driving habits significantly more than nontreated youths do, and that only seven States statutorily prohibit jailing youths under 18 convicted of first offense drunk driving. The authors recommend that States establish juvenile court jurisdiction for youths under age 18, suspend offenders' driver's licenses and impound their vehicles, include alcohol treatment as a discretionary disposition alternative, and separate incarcerated youths from adults. Footnotes, 9 tables, 4 figures, statutory summary, supplemental bibliography, arrest trend data, and references. (Executive summary modified)