The report summarizes the results of a field test of attempting to achieve driving while intoxicated (DWI) general deterrence by combining enforcement efforts with public information and education (PI&E) activities designed to heighten public awareness of the specific enforcement techniques being employed. The intent was to thereby increase the general driving public's perceived risk of arrest for DWI, deter them from that behavior and affect alcohol-related crashes. The program was implemented in Indianapolis, Indiana. Public awareness and crash statistics were monitored both there and in a comparison jurisdiction (Cincinnati, Ohio). It is hypothesized that the failure to detect any changes in police-reported alcohol related crashes may in part be due to increased sensitivity to alcohol by police accident investigators. In this test site PI&E activities concentrated on hard news coverage. It is suggested that hard news coverage supplemented by public service PI&E activities may result in more sustained program effects.
Enforcement and Public Information Strategies for DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) Deterrence: The Indianapolis, Indiana Experience
1988
119 pages
Report
No indication
English