NCJ Number
134625
Date Published
1991
Length
156 pages
Annotation
This book emphasizes the need to recognize the serious social problem of driving drunk, which is one of the most common types of illegal conduct in the U.S. It presents a comprehensive analysis of society's emerging response to the phenomenon of DWI, the offenders involved, and the factors responsible for challenging and changing the status quo mentality and policies of benign neglect regarding the crime and its perpetrators.
Abstract
The book discusses the various developments, innovations, issues, and controversies related to the contemporary anti-drunk driving campaign in this country. This nationwide reform agenda is based on a deterrence model of containment and is characterized by an eclectic variety of drunk driving countermeasures. The first chapter defines DWI and related concepts, outlines its prevalence, and describes the background against which new strategies, techniques, and procedures have been implemented. The following chapters deal with various aspects of the detection, processing, and disposition of offenders including sobriety checkpoints, preliminary breath tests, administrative license suspension, prosecution and defense of drunk drivers, and mandatory sentencing for convicted offenders. Other issues analyzed in this book include the impact of mandatory sentences on the criminal justice system, non-cruel and unusual punishment, and third party liability for alcohol-related accidents.