Citation

Kilmer B, Nicosia N, Heaton P, Midgette G. Am. J. Public Health 2013; 103(1): e37-43.

Affiliation

Beau Kilmer, Paul Heaton, and Greg Midgette are with RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA. Nancy Nicosia is with RAND Corporation, Boston, MA. B. Kilmer is also with the RAND Drug Policy Research Center, Santa Monica. P. Heaton is also with the RAND Institute for Civil Justice, Santa Monica. G. Midgette is also with the Pardee RAND Graduate School, Santa Monica.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, American Public Health Association)

DOI

10.2105/AJPH.2012.300989

PMID

23153129

Abstract

Objectives. We examined the public health impact of South Dakota's 24/7 Sobriety Project, an innovative program requiring individuals arrested for or convicted of alcohol-involved offenses to submit to breathalyzer tests twice per day or wear a continuous alcohol monitoring bracelet. Those testing positive are subject to swift, certain, and modest sanctions. Methods. We conducted differences-in-differences analyses comparing changes in arrests for driving while under the influence of alcohol (DUI), arrests for domestic violence, and traffic crashes in counties with the program to counties without the program. Results. Between 2005 and 2010, more than 17 000 residents of South Dakota-including more than 10% of men aged 18 to 40 years in some counties-had participated in the 24/7 program. At the county level, we documented a 12% reduction in repeat DUI arrests (P = .023) and a 9% reduction in domestic violence arrests (P = .035) following adoption of the program. Evidence for traffic crashes was mixed. Conclusions. In community supervision settings, frequent alcohol testing with swift, certain, and modest sanctions for violations can reduce problem drinking and improve public health outcomes. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print November 15, 2012: e1-e7. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2012.300989).

Language: en