Program Profile: South Dakota's 24/7 Sobriety Project

This program seeks to reduce the recidivism of persons previously convicted of driving while under the influence of alcohol (DUI) through intensive testing and monitoring of drug and alcohol consumption. The main goal is to encourage sobriety of convicted persons 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. The program is rated Promising. The program led to a statistically significant reduction in repeat DUI and domestic violence arrests, but did not impact first-time DUI arrests or traffic crashes.

A Promising rating implies that implementing the program may result in the intended outcome(s).

Program Goals

The South Dakota 24/7 Sobriety Project was designed as a nontraditional approach to reduce the recidivism of  people who have been repeatedly convicted of driving while under the influence of alcohol (DUI). The program seeks to reduce recidivism through intensive testing and monitoring of alcohol consumption. The main goal is to encourage sobriety 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. These individuals can avoid incarceration as long as they abstain from alcohol and drug use. Swift and certain sanctions are used for those who test positive for substance use.

Target Population

The program initially targeted people repeatedly convicted of DUI offenses. The program was later expanded to target those convicted of DUI for the first time and individuals arrested or convicted for other offenses, such as assault, domestic violence, or child abuse and neglect.

Program Components

These individuals are placed in the 24/7 Sobriety Project as a condition of bail, sentencing, probation, parole, or child custody or visitation orders. The program monitors abstinence from alcohol and drug use through a variety of tests, including: 1) twice-a-day breathalyzer tests, 2) alcohol monitoring ankle bracelets, 3) Ignition Interlock, and 4) drug patch and urine testing. Breathalyzer tests are done at 12-hour intervals (once in the morning and once in the evening). The electronic ankle bracelets (called Secure Continuous Alcohol Remote Monitor or SCRAM bracelets) allow for continuous monitoring of alcohol consumption by law enforcement with daily remote electronic reporting. Participants may also be required to wear drug patches to monitor drug use (patches are worn for 7–10 days and then mailed in), or provide random urine samples twice a week. Program participants may be placed on one or more types of tests at the same time. In 2012, the program was expanded to require the use of ignition interlock devices for some participants. Not only are participants required to provide a breath test when starting and operating their vehicle, every participant must submit a breath test at prescribed times twice a day. In addition, participants are required to cover the costs of their tests.

If program participants test positive for substance use, they are immediately subject to a short jail term (usually 1 or 2 days). Failure to show for a scheduled test may result in an arrest warrant for the participant. Further, their bond, parole, or probation may be revoked if they fail or skip tests.

Study

Kilmer and colleagues (2013) studied the effects of South Dakota’s 24/7 Sobriety Project by comparing changes in public health outcomes between 2001 and 2010 in counties that implemented the program with control counties that did not implement the program. Data from the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office was used to determine when the program was implemented in counties within the state. The database included information on participant-level data (such as demographic characteristics, county of residence, and dates of participation) as well as information about every test (such as date and time of each test and the result) for all individuals who participated in the program since it began in 2005.

Between 2005 and 2010, 63 percent of new program participants entered for a DUI offense, 6 percent entered for community corrections violations, 5 percent for domestic violence, 5 percent for assault, 5 percent for drug possession, and 17 percent for other offenses. Half of new program participants were aged 18 to 40 years when they entered the program. The majority of participants in the program during this time were white. No information was provided on other races/ethnicities or gender.

The program was considered operational in a county once the number of county residents participating in the program for a given month equaled or exceeded a quarter of the number of DUI arrests in the county. DUI arrests were defined as the county’s moving monthly average during the previous year, to address any seasonality. In 2005, five counties were piloting the program. By the end of 2006, 19 counties were administering tests for the program.

The primary outcomes of interest included arrests for driving while under the influence of alcohol (DUI), arrests for domestic violence, and traffic crashes. Data on DUI and domestic violence arrests from 2001 to 2010 came from the South Dakota Department of Criminal Investigation. Arrests for DUI were examined separately for people arrest for the first time and people repeatedly arrested for DUI. Data on traffic crashes reported to the police from 2004 to 2010 came from the South Dakota Office of Highway Safety.

A number of time-varying county characteristics were controlled for in the analyses, including unemployment rate, snowfall, per capita police officers, per capita on- and off-premises alcohol outlets, an indicator variable for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, and an indicator variable for whether college was in session (for the four counties with substantial student populations). Because the outcome measures involved count data and included zeroes, Poisson regression was used to analyze the data.

Participants of South Dakota’s 24/7 Sobriety Project are required to cover the costs of the program. Examples of program fees include: a $2 per day test fee for the twice-a-day breathalyzer test, $10 per urinalysis test, $40 per drug patch, $40 activation fee of the electronic ankle bracelet, and $6 daily monitoring fee (Mabry n/d).

For more information about the 24/7 Sobriety Project, please see South Dakota’s Office of the Attorney General’s program Web site: https://atg.sd.gov/legal/dui247/default.aspx

These sources were used in the development of the program profile:

These sources were used in the development of the program profile:

Caulkins, Jonathan P., and Robert L. Dupont. 2010. “Is 24/7 Sobriety a Good Goal for Repeat Driving Under the Influence (DUI) Offenders?” Addiction 105(4):575–77.

Kilmer, Beau, and Keith Humphreys. 2013. “Losing You ‘License to Drink’: The Radical South Dakota Approach to Heavy Drinkers Who Threaten Public Safety.” The Brown Journal of World Affairs 20(1):267–279.

Loudenburg, Roland, Gregg Drube, and Gary Leonardson. 2010. South Dakota 24/7 Sobriety Program Evaluation Findings Report . Salem, N.D.: Mountain Plans Evaluation, LLC. (This study was reviewed but did not meet Crime Solutions' criteria for inclusion in the overall program rating.)

Mabry, Art. n/d. South Dakota 24/7 Sobriety Program . PowerPoint presentation. Pierre, S.D.: South Dakota Attorney General’s Office, Department of Criminal Investigation.

Talpins, Stephen K., Robert B. Voas, Robert L. DuPont, and Corinne L. Shea. 2010. “Smart Justice for DWI Offenders: Cost Effective Solutions that Reduce Recidivism and Promote Public Safety.” The Journal of Offender Monitoring :9–12.