Contacts: Gill Woodall, (505) 768-0114 Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821

November 13, 2002 UNM STUDY SAYS DRUNK DRIVERS COMPLETING TREATMENT PROGRAM ARE LESS LIKELY TO BE REARRESTED FOR DWI Drunk drivers who completed a treatment program in one New Mexico county were less likely to be arrested again for driving under the influence than those who did not undergo treatment, according to a new study conducted by the Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Addictions (CASAA) at UNM. The study, “Rearrest Rates After Incarceration for DWI: A Comparative Study in a Southwestern U.S. County,” was conducted by Gill Woodall, director, Prevention, Education and Research Branch at CASAA, and associate professor in the Communication and Journalism Department. The research, originally funded by a $2.5 million grant awarded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, was conducted in San Juan County in northwestern New Mexico where alcohol-related crashes accounted for more than $94 million in economic costs. Woodall found that nearly 30 percent of offenders were less likely to be rearrested for DWI in the five years following their first arrest than those who did not complete the treatment program. “The people in San Juan County knew they had a problem,” said Woodall. “They were consistently ranked at the top for repeat DWI offenders. They did an informal study with a program in Prince George’s County in Maryland and found it was successful, so they started a similar program in San Juan County.” Jim Davis, director of the Division of Government Research, a division of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at UNM, provided records for all driving while intoxicated arrests in San Juan County in northwestern New Mexico, from Aug. 1994 through March 2001, and Woodall and his colleagues analyzed the data. The county instituted a DWI treatment program in 1994 that included 28 days of jail time and individual and group treatment.  The incarcerated population included Anglos, Hispanics, and Native Americans. The program, which focuses on first-time offenders, incarcerates participants in a minimum security facility and provides a multicomponent treatment program during incarceration. During incarceration, offenders receive inpatient treatment, designed to be culturally appropriate. For Native Americans, the program offers a sweat lodge, talking circles and other interventions. The specific treatment components included: alcohol use, abuse and dependence; health and nutrition; psychological effects of alcohol abuse; a drinking and driving awareness; a stress management; and goal-setting, in which clients devise an action plan for their immediate future. Other components are focused on family issues and alcohol; domestic violence; HIV/AIDS prevention; and a work release program for clients who are employed. Throughout the program, Motivational Interviewing techniques are used in client-counselor interactions. After discharge, the program monitors individuals for three to 12 months, with an average length of six months. Personal action plan implementation, weekly monitor meetings, alcohol breath tests, Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, job referrals and vocational education are accomplished during this phase. “After analyzing the data since 1994, we found that the program was having some success,” said Woodall. “We found that DWI offenders who went through the program demonstrated 17 percent less recidivism than nonparticipants. That’s a huge difference compared to what you find around the country.” Other researchers involved in the project include Denise Wheeler, senior research scientist, CASAA, Ev Rogers, regents’ professor, Communication and Journalism, and Stephen Kunitz, professor emeritus, preventive medicine, University of Rochester (New York). # # #

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