New York, NY – The numbers are enough to drive someone to drink.
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Nearly 10,000 drunken-driving arrests were made in the city last year, yet of the more than 6,000 cases that have gone through courts, only 187 offenders landed behind bars, according to the state Division of Criminal Justice Services.
Manhattan handed out the most lenient sentences among the five boroughs, with only 28 — or 2.5 percent — of the 1,091 convicted offenders getting jail time. The borough’s conviction rate for drunken drivers over the last three years was 75 percent, also the worst in the city.
The state’s conviction rate for the past three years was 95.6 percent.
Advocates, lawmakers and families of drunken-driving victims said the shockingly low number of jail sentences shows courts go too easy on offenders and do little to discourage recidivism.
The claim is bolstered by state data showing 17 percent of arrested drunken drivers in 2008 had already had a DWI arrest in the past five years.
“Statistics seem to show that all too often, there is no effort to put these people behind bars,” said state Sen. Craig Johnson (D-LI).
Johnson and Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther (D-Sullivan County) have introduced a bill that would toughen DWI laws by allowing counties to mandate that first-time offenders install an ignition-locking device that lets them drive only after they pass a breath test.
Terrible statistics. Bloomberg sends his goons after all the parking fines. If only he did one tenth of that work to put these drunken offenders behind bars instead of giving them more chances to hit us while they ride around in a stupor.
Mr. Bloomberg, you don’t need a state law. Just make it the city policy. They drive drunk or on drugs in this city and they go to jail and pay a fine. At least ten days in jail!!! Where is all your toughness when it comes to this? Why only send the 300 pound goons against parking offenders, while the really horrendous offenders laugh at the public and do it over and over?
Jail for first time DWI offenders is not the answer. Jail time costs taxpayers money. Instead a mechanism to raise revenue would be more prudent in this age of government deficits. Perhaps a large fine for first time offenders(at least $2,000?), then perhaps confiscation of the car and a revocation of the driver’s license if there is a second offense.
Jail time just makes them worse. We know this. The US Department of Justice (USDOJ) has done plenty of research in this area, and jail time does not reduce recidivism. What works is treatment in the community. I don’t think these guys are getting off, rather they are being court ordered to attend treatment for substance abuse and drunk driving instead of being sent to jail.
Although DWI is a terrible crime we have to many of our young and best going to jail daily
We are becoming like the Stalin regime in Russia
Stop sending everybody to jail, If this nonsense keeps up
one day 50% of our society will be in jail
dwi dont deserve to be in jail