Technical Report Documentation Page

1. Report No.
DOT HS 809 641

2. Government Accession No.

3. Recipient’s Catalog No.

4. Title and Subtitle

5. Report Date

Evaluation of the Austin Police Department DWI Enforcement Unit

August 2003

6. Performing Organization Code

7. Author(s)

8. Performing Organization Report No.

Wiliszowski, C.W., and Jones, R.K.

9. Performing Organization Name and Address

10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS)

Mid-America Research Institute, Inc.

611 Main Street

11. Contract or Grant No.

Winchester, MA 01890

DTNH22-96-C-05088

12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address

13. Type of Report and Period Covered

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Office of Research and Traffic Records
400 7^th Street, S.W.
Washington, DC   20590

Final Report

14. Sponsoring Agency Code

15. Supplementary Notes

Amy Berning was the Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR) for this project.

16. Abstract

This report summarizes a study of a program implemented by the Austin, Texas Police Department (APD) that was designed to solve problems encountered in performing enforcement and adjudication functions of the DWI enforcement system.  This project assessed the impact of the program on the effectiveness of the system as a whole.  The APD program elements included:  creation of a new, full-time team of DWI specialists to enforce DWI laws and to assist other units of the Department in processing DWI suspects; provided enhanced training of all officers in DWI enforcement; required rookie officers to accompany members of the specialist team to gain hands-on experience; assigned court liaison officers to ascertain exactly when officers are required in court; and allowed officers to participate in administrative license revocation hearings by telephone.  Program analysis showed increases in the number of DWI arrests and in the DWI conviction rate.  These improvements in system performance most likely were responsible for a 25% reduction in drivers in alcohol-related fatal crashes.  Still, some of the attempted improvements were not realized.  Overall DWI processing times did not decrease and DWI arrests for general patrol units did not increase.

17. Key Words

18. Distribution Statement

DWI, DWI arrests, DWI convictions, DWI processing times, anti-DWI enforcement, anti-DWI system improvements, special anti-DWI enforcement teams.

This report is available from the National Tech­nical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia 22161, (703) 605-6000, and is free of charge from the NHTSA web site at www.nhtsa.dot.gov

19. Security Classif. (of this report)

20. Security Classif. (of this page)

21. No. of Pages

22. Price

Unclassified

Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72)          Reproduction of completed page authorized