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Hardcore drunk drivers can be defined as individuals who drive with a high blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .15 or above, who do so repeatedly, as demonstrated by having more than one drunk driving arrest, and who are highly resistant to changing their behavior despite previous sanctions, treatment, or education efforts.
Listed below are the terms most closely matching the definition above which could be used in Texas to identify these offenders:
"Repeat offender."
Repeat offenders are defined in statute by 2nd or subsequent offense within 10 years.
DWI becomes a felony on the 3rd offense.
DWI REPORTING
Records on repeat offenses are one of the primary means of tracking the problem of hardcore drunk drivers.
The following are key aspects of Texas records:
New licensees are reviewed for outstanding suspensions/revocations in other states before a license is granted, and DWI convictions from other states are considered prior offenses in Texas, within the limits of the law.
The approximate number of licensed drivers is 13 million.
The average BAC level of offenders arrested in 1996 was approximately .17.
According to the most recent information available, in 1996 there were 7,424 convictions for felony level (3rd and subsequent) DWIs.
IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT
Identifying those drivers who are likely to repeatedly drive drunk and assessing the nature of their underlying problems is essential in order to keep hardcore offenders off the road.
In Texas identification of repeat offenders occurs most frequently at pre-trial.
In Texas offenders with a high BAC at the time of arrest are treated as follows:
� All offenders are treated the same regardless of BAC.
In Texas following conviction, offenders, as shown, receive a mandatory assessment/evaluation to determine the nature and extent of their alcohol problem:
� All offenders who are placed on community supervision (probation).
� All offenders arrested in counties with populations of 550,000 or more must have a substance abuse assessment for any alcohol or drug related offense.
In Texas the assessment may be conducted at any point during adjudication, depending on the case, and the individual may or may not return to court for final sentencing based on the assessment.
In Texas assessments are conducted by a public or private agency or person licensed by the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse. Assessments include education and/or treatment depending on level of offense. The cost ranges from $40 to $300 and is usually borne by the offender.
TREATMENT
Treatment and rehabilitation programs play an important role in reducing hardcore drunk driving.
In Texas results of the assessment are provided to the offender�s attorney, the judge/administrator presiding over the case, the prosecutor and the treatment agency, as requested. The offender is referred to treatment on the basis of the assessment by order of the court as a condition of community supervision.
In Texas treatment is mandated for repeat offenders under the following circumstances: As an alternative to incarceration, felony offenders must be confined in a substance abuse treatment facility from 6 months to 1 year. Repeat offenders are, in effect, mandated to 32 hours of education/treatment to the extent that the alcohol assessment for this level is conducted in an Intensive Weekend Intervention format and that they are placed on community supervision rather than incarceration.
In Texas offenders failing to comply with the terms of their program are at risk of revocation of probation (community supervision) and may be returned to the court for further action.
In Texas the following treatment facility or program specifically targets the hardcore drunk driver: None.
ENFORCEMENT
While law enforcement works against drunk driving across the board, it is central in the battle against hardcore drunk drivers.
The following enforcement techniques are used in Texas to detect and apprehend drunk drivers:
Media Blitzes with Enforcement Campaigns, Standardized Field Sobriety Testing, Selective Traffic Enforcement Projects (STEP), Mobile Video-taping, and Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) Evaluations.
PROSECUTION AND SENTENCING PRACTICES
A number of factors influence the sentence a drunk driver receives.
In Texas there is no Anti-Plea Bargaining Statute for DWI.
In Texas the period of time in which a judge or administrator can review an offender�s record (the "look-back" period) is 10 years.
In Texas at the time of sentencing, an individual�s arrest and conviction records are available for consideration by the court. This information includes his or entire criminal record.
In Texas there are graduated penalties for DWI based on number of offenses.
SANCTIONS
Sanctions against the offender may be derived from criminal action, i.e. court-ordered, or administrative action by the licensing authority as a condition of license reinstatement. Many are aimed at preventing or limiting the opportunity of the hardcore offender to drink and drive. The purpose of others is rehabilitation.
In the State of Texas, the following sanctions may only be ordered by the court:
Fines: $2000 to $10,000 with no mandatory minimums.
Incarceration - Mandatory minimums: 2nd offense 30 days (minimum 3 days continuous confinement if community supervision is granted); subsequent offense 2 years (minimum 10 days if community supervision is granted). When imprisonment is in a county jail, the court may allow an offender to participate in a work release program.
Community Service: At the discretion of the court, but not in lieu of any other sanction.
Home Confinement with Electronic Monitoring: In lieu of county jail, at the discretion of the court.
Intensive Supervision Probation: At the discretion of the court.
Victim Impact Panel: At the discretion of the court.
Action Against Offender�s Vehicle: Vehicle Forfeiture - upon 3rd or greater conviction.
� Vehicle Immobilization, Vehicle Impoundment, Registration Cancellation/Plate Seizure: None.
Other Special Assessments/Surcharges: $25 Rehabilitation fee; Victim Restitution; $30 Breath Test Fee; A deep-lung breath analysis mechanism installed in vehicle in lieu of county jail, at the discretion of the court.
The following sanctions may be ordered by the court or by the licensing authority:
Licensing Action:
� Suspension/Revocation: Texas has both pre-conviction administrative and post-conviction court-ordered with mandatory minimums beginning with the 1st offense. Reinstatement Fee: $100.
� Conditional Licensing: An occupational license may be issued based on "essential need." A court granting such a license must order the offender into rehabilitation. An offender who has been granted such a license within the previous 10 years for a DWI conviction is ineligible. Fee $10.
� Alcohol Ignition Interlock: May be ordered for 1st offenders and must be ordered for repeat offenders as a condition of community supervision or for an occupational license. Also, for repeat offenders, an ignition interlock is required following release from confinement. Cost varies and offender must pay.
� Autotimer, Fuel Lock, Special Plate Markings: None.
Rehabilitation:
�Assessment/Education: For 1st offenders - 12 hour program $40 to $75.
�Assessment/Treatment: For repeat offenders - 32 hour program $50 to $300.
� Intensive Weekend Intervention: None.
Listed below are the terms most closely matching the definition above which could be used in Texas to identify these offenders:
"Repeat offender."
Repeat offenders are defined in statute by 2nd or subsequent offense within 10 years.
DWI becomes a felony on the 3rd offense.
DWI REPORTING
Records on repeat offenses are one of the primary means of tracking the problem of hardcore drunk drivers.
The following are key aspects of Texas records:
New licensees are reviewed for outstanding suspensions/revocations in other states before a license is granted, and DWI convictions from other states are considered prior offenses in Texas, within the limits of the law.
The approximate number of licensed drivers is 13 million.
The average BAC level of offenders arrested in 1996 was approximately .17.
According to the most recent information available, in 1996 there were 7,424 convictions for felony level (3rd and subsequent) DWIs.
IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT
Identifying those drivers who are likely to repeatedly drive drunk and assessing the nature of their underlying problems is essential in order to keep hardcore offenders off the road.
In Texas identification of repeat offenders occurs most frequently at pre-trial.
In Texas offenders with a high BAC at the time of arrest are treated as follows:
� All offenders are treated the same regardless of BAC.
In Texas following conviction, offenders, as shown, receive a mandatory assessment/evaluation to determine the nature and extent of their alcohol problem:
� All offenders who are placed on community supervision (probation).
� All offenders arrested in counties with populations of 550,000 or more must have a substance abuse assessment for any alcohol or drug related offense.
In Texas the assessment may be conducted at any point during adjudication, depending on the case, and the individual may or may not return to court for final sentencing based on the assessment.
In Texas assessments are conducted by a public or private agency or person licensed by the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse. Assessments include education and/or treatment depending on level of offense. The cost ranges from $40 to $300 and is usually borne by the offender.
TREATMENT
Treatment and rehabilitation programs play an important role in reducing hardcore drunk driving.
In Texas results of the assessment are provided to the offender�s attorney, the judge/administrator presiding over the case, the prosecutor and the treatment agency, as requested. The offender is referred to treatment on the basis of the assessment by order of the court as a condition of community supervision.
In Texas treatment is mandated for repeat offenders under the following circumstances: As an alternative to incarceration, felony offenders must be confined in a substance abuse treatment facility from 6 months to 1 year. Repeat offenders are, in effect, mandated to 32 hours of education/treatment to the extent that the alcohol assessment for this level is conducted in an Intensive Weekend Intervention format and that they are placed on community supervision rather than incarceration.
In Texas offenders failing to comply with the terms of their program are at risk of revocation of probation (community supervision) and may be returned to the court for further action.
In Texas the following treatment facility or program specifically targets the hardcore drunk driver: None.
ENFORCEMENT
While law enforcement works against drunk driving across the board, it is central in the battle against hardcore drunk drivers.
The following enforcement techniques are used in Texas to detect and apprehend drunk drivers:
Media Blitzes with Enforcement Campaigns, Standardized Field Sobriety Testing, Selective Traffic Enforcement Projects (STEP), Mobile Video-taping, and Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) Evaluations.
PROSECUTION AND SENTENCING PRACTICES
A number of factors influence the sentence a drunk driver receives.
In Texas there is no Anti-Plea Bargaining Statute for DWI.
In Texas the period of time in which a judge or administrator can review an offender�s record (the "look-back" period) is 10 years.
In Texas at the time of sentencing, an individual�s arrest and conviction records are available for consideration by the court. This information includes his or entire criminal record.
In Texas there are graduated penalties for DWI based on number of offenses.
SANCTIONS
Sanctions against the offender may be derived from criminal action, i.e. court-ordered, or administrative action by the licensing authority as a condition of license reinstatement. Many are aimed at preventing or limiting the opportunity of the hardcore offender to drink and drive. The purpose of others is rehabilitation.
In the State of Texas, the following sanctions may only be ordered by the court:
Fines: $2000 to $10,000 with no mandatory minimums.
Incarceration - Mandatory minimums: 2nd offense 30 days (minimum 3 days continuous confinement if community supervision is granted); subsequent offense 2 years (minimum 10 days if community supervision is granted). When imprisonment is in a county jail, the court may allow an offender to participate in a work release program.
Community Service: At the discretion of the court, but not in lieu of any other sanction.
Home Confinement with Electronic Monitoring: In lieu of county jail, at the discretion of the court.
Intensive Supervision Probation: At the discretion of the court.
Victim Impact Panel: At the discretion of the court.
Action Against Offender�s Vehicle: Vehicle Forfeiture - upon 3rd or greater conviction.
� Vehicle Immobilization, Vehicle Impoundment, Registration Cancellation/Plate Seizure: None.
Other Special Assessments/Surcharges: $25 Rehabilitation fee; Victim Restitution; $30 Breath Test Fee; A deep-lung breath analysis mechanism installed in vehicle in lieu of county jail, at the discretion of the court.
The following sanctions may be ordered by the court or by the licensing authority:
Licensing Action:
� Suspension/Revocation: Texas has both pre-conviction administrative and post-conviction court-ordered with mandatory minimums beginning with the 1st offense. Reinstatement Fee: $100.
� Conditional Licensing: An occupational license may be issued based on "essential need." A court granting such a license must order the offender into rehabilitation. An offender who has been granted such a license within the previous 10 years for a DWI conviction is ineligible. Fee $10.
� Alcohol Ignition Interlock: May be ordered for 1st offenders and must be ordered for repeat offenders as a condition of community supervision or for an occupational license. Also, for repeat offenders, an ignition interlock is required following release from confinement. Cost varies and offender must pay.
� Autotimer, Fuel Lock, Special Plate Markings: None.
Rehabilitation:
�Assessment/Education: For 1st offenders - 12 hour program $40 to $75.
�Assessment/Treatment: For repeat offenders - 32 hour program $50 to $300.
� Intensive Weekend Intervention: None.
