A Phenomenological Approach to Assessing a DUI/DWI Program

In an attempt to find a proactive solution to the problem of drunk driving, a midwestern U.S. city has implemented a Driving Under the Influence or Driving While Impaired (DUI/DWI) Court program, a derivative of the popular drug courts. Eligible participants are those with two or more drunk-driving offenses who have not been convicted of a violent offense. Participants volunteer for a 36-week program in exchange for a suspension of their prison sentence. Program elements include drug/alcohol monitoring, support groups, counseling, and extensive supervision. Using a phenomenological approach, this article describes the challenges faced by 20 participants, how they navigated the program requirements, their key realizations about their conditions, and their views on the viability and effectiveness of the program. The article uses qualitative interviews of participants and stakeholders collected for a process evaluation of the DUI program, and official records collected for programming purposes. Findings from this research can be used broadly for programming purposes and can be used by other court jurisdictions that are developing similar programs.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X11431685
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/0306624X
• Authors:
  • Narag, Raymund E
  • Maxwell, Sheila Royo
  • Lee, Byung
• Publication Date: 2013-2

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 229-250
• Serial:
  • International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology
  • Volume: 57
  • Issue Number: 2
  • Publisher: Sage Publications, Incorporated
  • ISSN: 0306-624X
  • EISSN: 1552-6933
  • Serial URL: http://ijo.sagepub.com/

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alcohol abuse; Behavior modification; Driver rehabilitation; Drunk drivers; Drunk driving; Recidivists; Repeat offenders; Safety programs
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01492050
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 21 2013 1:36PM