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Drink Driving, Report 1: Offences Finalized in the Magistrates Court of South Australia, 1995

NCJ Number
171042
Author(s)
J Marshall
Date Published
1997
Length
62 pages
Annotation
This report outlines the results of Part One of a study into adult drink driving, using data from South Australia (SA) Police and the Courts Administration Authority.
Abstract
The report examines the profiles and offense histories of adults found guilty of a drink driving or an associated offense. It describes the demographic characteristics of the offenders; examines associated offending behavior; compares the profiles of probationary license offenders with those of full license offenders; and describes the penalties imposed by the court and how they vary according to demographic factors. The study also analyzes repeat drink drivers in terms of their demographic characteristics, penalties received and time between offenses. Defendants involved in these cases were most likely to be male and under 45 years, with Aboriginal persons overrepresented compared to their incidence in the South Australian population. Most drink driving cases involved only a single drink driving charge. Very few cases included criminal charges in addition to the drink driving charge. Approximately 20 percent of drink driving defendants in 1995 had a prior similar conviction within the preceding 5 years. These recidivists were also likely to be male and between 25 and 34 years of age. Tables, figures, references