Article Date: 19 Nov 2012

 

An innovative alcohol monitoring program imposed upon thousands of alcohol-involved offenders in South Dakota helps reduce repeat DUI arrests and domestic violence arrests, according to a new RAND Corporation study. 

Examining the first six years of South Dakota’s 24/7 Sobriety Project, researchers found that frequent alcohol testing with swift and moderate sanctions for those caught using alcohol reduced county-level repeat DUI arrests by 12 percent and domestic violence arrests by 9 percent. There was mixed evidence about whether the program reduced traffic crashes. 

The results, published online by theAmerican Journal of Public Health, are from the first assessment of the program published in a peer-reviewed journal. 

“The South Dakota 24/7 Sobriety Project is reducing both repeat DUI and domestic abuse arrests at the county-level,” said Beau Kilmer, the study’s lead author and a senior policy researcher at RAND, a nonprofit research organization. “The results suggest that frequent alcohol testing with swift, certain and modest sanctions for violations can reduce problem drinking and improve public health outcomes.” Read More…