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Examination of DWI Conviction Rate Procedures August 1999 6 E X AM I N A T I O N O F DCONVICTIONWI RATE PROCEDURES FINAL REPOR T August 1999 Technical Report Documentation Page 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No. DOT HS 808 970 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date Examination of DWI Conviction Rate Procedures August 1999 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No. Jones, R.K.; Wiliszowski, C.H.; and Lacey, J.H. 2097 Task Order 02 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) Mid-America Research Institute 611 Main Street 11. Contract or Grant No. Winchester, MA 01890 DTNH22-97-D-35018 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address’ 13. Type of Report and Period Covered National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Office of Research and Traffic Records Final Report th 400 7 Street, S.W. July 1997 - January 1999 Washington, DC 20590 14. Sponsoring Agency Code 15. Supplementary Notes Amy Berning was the COTR for this project. 16. Abstract This report summarizes how DWI conviction rates are calculated. Arrest and conviction data were obtained from ten sites along with information and opinions from local officials on how DWI conviction rates should be calculated. It was found that often DWI conviction rates were not calculated, or at least the information would not be released publicly. When rates or calculation methods were released, calculation methods differed among the sites, and the type of conviction rate quoted was largely a function of the type of agency doing the quoting and the data available to that agency. The DWI conviction process can be affected by plea bargains, speedy trial laws, offenders who fail to appear, and pre-trial diversion practices. Although it would seem that a state-wide, complex system would be necessary to provide all the data required to provide a system-wide conviction rate, the smallest site included in the study proved that, with cooperation from all the organizations involved, an effective system can be set up in any jurisdiction. The objective of the project was to examine various conviction rate formulas, but was not concerned with the success or lack thereof of convicting persons charged with DWI offenses in the participating jurisdictions. Individuals in those sites who agreed to participate in the project should be commended for providing data for the study, general system information, and views on the subject. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement Conviction rates, DWI, DUI, DWAI, DWI convictions, This report is available from the National Technical conviction rate formulas, calculated conviction rates, DWI Information Service, Springfield, Virginia 22161 arrests, FTA, failure to appear (703) 605-6000. 19. Security Classif. (of this report) 20. Security Classif. (of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price Unclassified Unclassified Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized TABLE OF CONTENTS FIGURES TABLES EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INTRODUCTION SCOPE AND APPROACH ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT SITE DESCRIPTIONS AND ANALYSES CALIFORNIA- RIVERSIDE COUNTY Description DWI Enforcement System Prosecution Patterns and Beliefs Quoted Conviction Rates Calculated Conviction Rates COLORADO - PITKIN COUNTY Description DWI Enforcement System Prosecution Patterns and Beliefs Quoted Conviction Rates Calculated Conviction Rates GEORGIA - ROCKDALE COUNTY Description DWI Enforcement System Prosecution Patterns and Beliefs Quoted Conviction Rates Calculated Conviction Rates NEBRASKA- OMAHA Description DWI Enforcement System Prosecution Patterns and Beliefs Quoted Conviction Rates City Prosecutor's Office Nebraska Governor's Highway Safety Office Calculated Conviction Rates NEW JERSEY - MONMOUTH COUNTY Description DWI Enforcement System Prosecution Patterns and Beliefs Quoted Conviction Rates Calculated Conviction Rates NEW JERSEY - OCEAN COUNTY Description DWI Enforcement System Prosecution Patterns and Beliefs Quoted Conviction Rates Calculated Conviction Rates OHIO - CIRCLEVILLE AND PICKAWAY COUNTY Description DWI Enforcement System Prosecution Patterns and Beliefs Quoted Conviction Rates Circleville Municipal Court Calculated Conviction Rates TEXAS - TRAVIS COUNTY Description DWI Enforcement System Prosecution Patterns and Beliefs Quoted Conviction Rates Texas Department Of Transportation Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Calculated Conviction Rates VERMONT - RUTLAND COUNTY Description DWI Enforcement System Prosecution Patterns and Beliefs Quoted Conviction Rates Governor's Highway Safety Representative (GHSR). Vermont Center for Justice Research. Calculated Conviction Rates VERMONT - WASHINGTON COUNTY Description DWI Enforcement System Prosecution Patterns and Beliefs Quoted Conviction Rates Calculated Conviction Rates COMPARISON OF CONVICTION RATES QUOTED CONVICTION RATES CALCULATED CONVICTION RATES DISCUSSION OF CONVICTION RATES CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS CONCLUSIONS RECOMMENDATIONS REFERENCES FIGURES Figure 2-1: Pitkin County, Colorado DUI Systems Flowchart Figure 2-2: Rockdale County DUI Systems Flowchart Figure 2-3: DWI Arrests In Omaha, 1992-1997 Figure 2-4: Omaha DWI Systems Flowchart Figure 2-5: NJ Municipal Court DWI Systems Flowchart Figure 2-6: Circleville OMVI Systems Flowchart Figure 2-7: DWI Arrests In Texas, 1985-1990 Figure 2-8: DWI Convictions as a Percentage DWI Dispositions in Texas, RC - 1996 - 1998 Figure 2-9: Vermont DWI Systems Flowchart - Charges Disposed Figure 2-10: DWI Convictions in Vermont, 1981-1994 TABLES Table 2-1: Project Sites Table 2-2: Sex and Race Distribution of DWI Arrestees In Riverside County, California, 1995 Table 2-3: Dispositions of DUI Related Arrests by Pitkin County Sheriff's Office During the First Six Months of 1995 by Reporting Date Table 2-4: DWI Conviction Rates in the State Court of Rockdale County, Georgia, 1994 - 1996 Table 2-5: Circleville/Pickaway County Project Data Table 2-6: Quoted Conviction Rates, RC, FY 1996, for Travis County, Texas Table 2-7: State of Vermont - Criminal DWI* Charges and Convictions, 1990 -1994 Table 3-1: Calculated Conviction Rates in Study Sites EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This is the final report of a study of methods used to calculate conviction rates for DWI offenses. Conviction rate is important as one measure of the performance of the adjudication subsystem of the Traffic Law System in a given jurisdiction. Conviction rates can also be used to measure the performance of the components of the adjudicative subsystem. The objective of the project was to examine various conviction rate formulas, but was not concerned with the success or lack thereof of convicting persons charged with DWI offenses in the participating jurisdictions. We commend individuals in those sites who agreed to participate in the project and who provided data for our study, general system information, and views on the subject. Specific objectives of the project were to: • examine methods of calculating conviction rates by using data from ten sites; • determine the implications (pro and con) of each of these methods; and • develop methods for estimating conviction rates within, and across, jurisdictions to provide objective, accurate, and consistent information. To do this, we developed: • a description of the kinds of conviction rates constraints reported by the project sites along with their methods of calculating system-wide DWI conviction rates where applicable; and • methods for determining or estimating system-wide conviction rates, along with the justification for the use of the methods. We found through our discussions with practitioners in the field that the common public perception of a DWI conviction rate is the percentage of persons who are arrested for DWI who are actually convicted of that offense. However, we also found that in practice the DWI conviction rates which are reported are seldom that simple number, but rather the conviction rate of some subset of DWI arrests, or that convictions for other offenses are included in the calculations. Given that finding, it is evident that there are any number of types of calculations which are represented as DWI conviction rates. In other words, what is reported as the DWI conviction rate in one jurisdiction may be an entirely different calculation than what is reported by another jurisdiction as its DWI conviction rate. For that matter, agencies within a jurisdiction may have similar differences. Thus, when comparisons are made between jurisdictions on this important issue, it may well be like comparing apples to oranges. A jurisdiction which is receiving plaudits that reports only the results of cases which come to court, while many other cases are falling by the wayside, may well have a true conviction rate much lower than a jurisdiction which accurately reports a conviction rate that on the surface appears to be lower. The major conclusions of the study are: • There is great diversity among and within jurisdictions in what is reported as their DWI conviction rate. • Many jurisdictions have difficulty relating DWI convictions to arrests made within a specific time frame. • In many jurisdictions, failure to appear (FTA) in court, is a frequent problem with DWI offenders. • Many agencies and jurisdictions choose to neither calculate nor publicize their DWI conviction rates. • There is a quite natural tendency for agencies within jurisdictions to calculate and report that form of conviction rate which places them in the most favorable light. We recommend that: • When requesting DWI conviction rates, specify both the numerator and denominator,
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