Citation

Weisheit RA, Klofas JM. Int. J. Addict. 1992; 27(7): 793-816.

Affiliation

Department of Criminal Justice, Illinois State University, Normal 61761.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1992, Marcel Dekker)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

1618583

Abstract

It has been argued that DUI (driving under the influence) is an offense of the economically privileged, which suggests that DUI offenders may be different from other offenders. Studies of DUI arrestees and jail inmates, however, suggest they have more extensive criminal histories than other licensed drivers and similar criminal histories to other jail inmates. This study utilizes data from a representative national survey of over 5,000 jail inmates to compare jailed DUI offenders with other offenders on social characteristics, prior criminality, drug use, and alcohol use. The purpose of these comparisons is to determine whether DUI inmates represent a distinct "class" of offender for whom jail is a new experience. The implications of this distinction for policies which mandate jail time for DUI offenders are discussed.