Objective

To examine the specific deterrent effect of prison on driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) recidivism.

Method

The study outcomes were the probabilities of DUI re-offending over 6 months, 24 months and 5 years ‘free time’ (i.e. time not spent in custody). The comparison group consisted of offenders convicted of DUI offending who received a suspended sentence of imprisonment. The effect of imprisonment was examined in a series of 2SLS models; employing an extensive set of controls (age, gender, race, remoteness of residence, socioeconomic status, legal representation, number of concurrent offences, DUI blood alcohol range, number of prior court appearances, prior penalties) and variation in the judicial proclivity to imprison convicted drunk drive offenders as an instrument to identify the effect of prison on DUI re-offending.

Results

Our free-time analyses reveal no evidence that imprisonment reduces the risk of DUI recidivism. Separate analyses for first-time DUI offenders revealed a slight (5%) reduction in re-offending over 24 months free time but no effect over 5 years.

Conclusion

We conclude that the funds currently spent on imprisoning DUI offenders could be more fruitfully be invested in measures that show more promise in reducing DUI recidivism.

中文翻译：

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监狱能阻止醉酒司机吗？

客观的

研究监狱对酒后驾驶 (DUI) 累犯的具体威慑作用。

方法

研究结果是酒后驾车在 6 个月、24 个月和 5 年“空闲时间”（即未被拘留的时间）内再次犯罪的概率。对照组由因酒后驾车而被判缓刑的罪犯组成。在一系列 2SLS 模型中检验了监禁的影响；采用广泛的控制措施（年龄、性别、种族、居住地偏远、社会经济地位、法律代表、同时犯罪的数量、DUI 血液酒精范围、先前出庭的次数、先前的处罚）和司法监禁倾向的变化将被定罪的酒后驾车罪犯作为确定监狱对酒后驾车再犯罪影响的工具。

结果

我们的空闲时间分析显示没有证据表明监禁可以降低酒后驾车再犯的风险。对首次酒后驾车犯罪者的单独分析显示，在 24 个月的空闲时间内，再次犯罪的人数略有减少 (5%)，但在 5 年内没有影响。

结论

我们得出的结论是，目前用于监禁 DUI 罪犯的资金可以更有效地投资于措施，以减少 DUI 累犯。