Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Keywords
Drunk driving -- Prevention, Recidivism
Abstract
This study examines the effectiveness of victim impact courses, a court mandated intervention program, for 2nd OWI offenders (individuals with a second conviction of operating while intoxicated) in the first, fifth, and sixth districts of Iowa. Victim impact courses are intended to teach offenders about how drinking and driving can come to affect others in various different ways. The course is intended to lower reoffending rates for those who participate. Data was obtained through the ICON database. The ICON database is utilized by the Department of Corrections in Iowa to track information concerning offenders and their offenses. A bivariate analysis, discriminant analysis, and logistic regression were utilized to test various hypotheses. Findings indicate that for most recidivism measures, the victim impact and non-victim impact group had similar reoffending rates at one and three-year recidivism. However, one exception pertained to OWI reconviction at three-year recidivism where victim impact participants reoffended more than non-participants. Further analysis revealed that the number of prior OWI convictions, not victim impact participation, was the primary predictor of recidivism. The more prior OWI convictions an offender had the more likely they were to reoffend regardless of victim impact participation. This study finds that the current victim impact course utilized in Iowa may be an ineffective tool for lowering recidivism.
Year of Submission
2010
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology
First Advisor
Keith B. Crew, Chair
Date Original
5-2010
Object Description
1 PDF file (vii, 62 leaves ; 28 cm.)
Copyright
©2010 Sarah Emily Johnson
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Sarah Emily, "The effects of OWI victim impact courses on offender recidivism" (2010). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 1374.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/1374
Comments
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