Editorial: Targeting drunken drivers

Tuesday, Jan. 12, 1999 | 12:30 p.m.

Officials here haven't found the answer to the problem yet, but they may be on the right track. An experimental county program is giving authorities new hope that it's possible to keep chronic alcoholics off the roadways.

The DUI Serious Offender Program is the brainchild of Deputy District Attorney Gary Booker, who heads the district attorney's DUI Unit, and Laurel Turner, a substance abuse evaluation technician for the court system. The idea behind the program is to stop the pattern of repeat arrests among chronic drunken drivers by focusing on curing them of their bad habits.

Less than a year old, the program already is drawing praise for providing an alternative to hard jail time for repeat offenders while saving taxpayers $1 million. Participants get a chance at a clean record and staying out of prison if they complete the rigorous agenda outlined for them by authorities. The agenda involves intensive supervision, electronic monitoring, individual and group counseling and mandatory appearances at Alcoholics Anonymous. Those who complete the program can see their criminal records erased, but those who fail are guaranteed a trip to prison, usually with the maximum sentence. Of the 74 participants so far, only four have washed out and wound up in jail.

"There is a fear factor here," Turner told Sun reporter Bill Gang. "We understand they can relapse, but that's not part of the program. If they want to drink, they can go to prison."

Those in the program who still have their driver's licenses are required to install a breath-ignition interlock device on their cars. They have to blow into the machine and show they haven't been drinking before the car will start. Participants also generally are monitored with electronic house arrest devices to keep track of their whereabouts.

Participants pay the cost of all counseling and monitoring and are required to pay an annual $500 for the privilege of being in the program. Most gladly foot the bill rather than spend their time in prison.

Officials say the program, which just received a federal grant to hire a full-time supervisor for three years, ultimately expects to enroll 150 people, which could save the county $3 million a year in jail and court costs.

Even defense lawyers who specialize in DUI cases like what they see of the drunken-driving experiment. "It's an excellent program that is working extremely well," attorney John Watkins said. "For the first time, we're working to help someone with a drinking problem. As a defense attorney it lets me help my client."

One 32-year-old man who spent three years in prison following a series of seven drunken-driving arrests said he didn't sober up until he entered the program. Prison, the man said, didn't help him recover from his disease.

Booker pointed to the case of Jo Laverne Gilbert, who pleaded guilty last week to felony reckless driving and a misdemeanor DUI charge. Gilbert, severely injured New Year's Day 1998 in an alcohol-related accident she caused, has managed to begin turning her life around after enrolling in the program. Booker said she has become a leader in group counseling sessions and has begun to mentor younger participants. She's currently under house arrest and won't be formally sentenced for three years. At that time, if she makes it through the program, she'll be given credit for time served under house arrest and will walk out of court free and sober.

Authorities say it may take years of tracking before a true picture of the DUI Serious Offender Program's success can be determined. In the meantime, everyone involved believes the effort is a step in the right direction toward helping remove drunken drivers from Southern Nevada roadways.

If it makes any kind of progress toward that goal, it indeed will be a success. We wish the creators of this program much luck and hope others, even those in the private sector, lend a helping hand.