The number of DWI offense commitments in New York nearly quadrupled over the 11-year period, from 98 in 1987 to 379 in 1997. DWI commitments constituted nearly 2 percent of new commitments to New York State prisons in 1997. Although DWI offense commitments were less than 2 percent of overall new court commitments in recent years, the number of DWI offense commitments rose steadily over the period and the increase for DWI offense commitments was proportionally faster (287 percent) than the increase for new commitments generally (32 percent). While there was a significant growth in new DWI offense commitments, annual commitments for other DWI-related offenses remained relatively stable at around 35 per year. The number of offenders committed to the DCS for DWI-related offenses reached a high point of 47 in 1990. DWI commitments differed significantly from the overall DCS new court commitment population with respect to various characteristics, especially county of commitment. Overall, 67 percent of 1997 new court commitments were sentenced from New York City. However, New York City accounted for only 3 percent of DWI offense commitments that year. In 1997, suburban areas of New York City comprised 24 percent of DWI offense commitments, and the remaining upstate counties accounted for 73 percent of DWI offense commitments. Unlike the overall new court commitment population which was 14 percent white, 81 percent of DWI second commitments in 1997 were white. Information is appended on laws pertaining to DWI and related offenses. 5 tables and 1 chart