VALIDITY OF SELF-REPORTED CRIMINAL OFFENSES AND TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS INSCREENING OF DRIVING-WHILE-INTOXICATED OFFENDERS

Many jurisdictions in the USA, Canada and some European countries use diagnostic methods to assess substance abuse problems of driving-while -intoxicated (DWI) offenders, to address the concern that, during DWI screening, offenders may not give accurate information on their crimin al history and traffic violations to avoid referral to treatment. This study was designed to validate self-reported data, to assess the need for DWI agencies to access court records, and to obtain an offence pr ofile for this population. DWI offenders (n = 274, mostly first-time) were randomly selected from those who attended the Lovelace Comprehens ive Screening Program (LCSP). The self-reported data were compared wit h records retrieved from the Metropolitan Court in Albuquerque, New Me xico, USA. Three-quarters of the offenders had had at least one offenc e or traffic violation before this DWI arrest. Sixty-five per cent of the offenders with court records underreported their records. The high percentage of false self-reporting for a primarily first-time offende r population indicates the need to use court records to verify self-re ported data. For multiple offenders, who have a much higher rate of cr iminal offences and traffic violations, checking self-reported data ag ainst court records becomes more important. In addition, a questionnai re based on offence profile information could be used to obtain a more complete history of those offences.