![\"\"](\"http:\/\/change-production.s3.amazonaws.com\/photos\/wordpress_copies\/criminaljustice\/2009\/12\/driving_dui.jpg\" "\\"driving_dui\\"")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
South Carolina passed a law increasing sentences for driving under the influence<\/a> earlier this year, including mandatory minimums beginning at the second offense.<\/p>\n While regular readers know that I’m usually no fan of mandatory minimums and using punishment to deter crime, I think South Carolina is on the right track with a five-day mandatory minimum for a second DUI — and I wonder if the sentence might even work as a deterrent if applied to a first offense.<\/p>\n I’ve written before about the success of short, immediate sentences<\/a> in deterring probation violations in Hawaii. Mark A. R. Kleiman providean analysis of the Hawaii’s HOPE program and adds more data in his book “When Brute Force Fails<\/a>,” showing that definite sentences deter crime. One study of drunk driving recidivism in Alberta <\/a>suggested that five days might be too short, but found that the maximum deterrent effect may be reached around six months. Longer sentences had little impact on recidivism.<\/p>\n Mandatory sentences of 10 years of longer for crimes like drug possession are outlandish and unnecessary for a variety of reasons. The perpetrators know there will be serious repercussions if they’re caught – they think they won’t be caught. And the sentence is so long and irrational that there’s a chance they’ll be able to beat it. But five days, no questions asked, for a Breathalyzer over the legal limit? That might work.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I’ve also written before about my support for interlock ignition devices (IIDs)<\/a>, which are essentially in-car Breathalyzers. These prevent drunk drivers from getting behind the wheel in the first place, and they’re proven to work. Eleven states now mandate IIDs after a first DUI offense — and South Carolina isn’t one of them (SC requires an IID after the second DUI conviction<\/a>). The five-day law may work, but South Carolina should focus on prevention as well and make interlocks required after the first conviction.<\/p>\n