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The Effect of Victim Impact Panels on DUI Rearrest Rates: A Five-Year Follow-up.

Fors, Stuart W
June 4, 2015

Source: (2003) Criminology. 41(4):1319-1340.

Victim Impact Panels (VIPs) were introduced by Mothers Against
Drunk Driving (MADD) in 1982 and have since spread throughout the
United States in an attempt to reduce drunk driving. The objective of 5
VIP is to expose DUI offenders to the pain and suffering caused by
drunk driving without necessarily condemning the DUI offender. The
few scientific evaluations of the effectiveness of VIPs have produced
mixed results. The present investigation draws on evidence from a
quasi-experimental design and a five-year follow-up to probe further
the effects of VIPs on DUI recidivism. Results show that 33.5% of the
comparison group, but only 15.8% of the VIP group, were rearrested
over the five-year period. Discrete-time event history analyses suggest
that VIPs are associated with a 55.7% overall decrease in the hazard of
rearrest; the VIP effect is strong in the first two years but then wanes
dramatically. Methodological threats stemming from the study’s design
are considered. The implications of the differing styles of VIP and the
resultant outcomes are also discussed. (authors’ abstract)

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