Analysts Examine the Impact of DUI Court
Administrators of the Hall County DUI Court will be better able to objectively measure the effectiveness of the program with the help of a data-driven study to be conducted by Institute faculty.
DUI Court is a program that presents an alternative to incarceration for repeat DUI offenders. Instead of going to prison, DUI Court participants are given probation and must undergo substance abuse therapies and attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in addition to complying with other interventions. Its mission is to improve public safety by decreasing the prevalence of drunk drivers on the roads.
The court is interested in knowing its impact in preventing recidivism, that is, the proportion of participants who are arrested for a DUI offense after graduating from the program. The Institute will analyze data on participants who completed the DUI Court program by 2008 to determine the proportion who reoffended and the average time before reoffending.
The study will also help the court better understand the effectiveness of its efforts from the perspectives of the participants themselves. Institute faculty will survey both current participants and recent graduates to learn what they found most helpful about the program. Court administrators hope to gain a better idea about who is most likely to complete the program and how they can focus their efforts to achieve higher rates of success.
