A critical factor in the success of treatment programs for DWIs is the monitoring of the offender to ensure he or she carries out the therapeutic plan. This is particularly important for the hardcore drunk driver who, by repeated DWI offenses, has demonstrated an unwillingness to change his or her behavior. Typically, a number of the offenders assigned to treatment will fail to report for treatment or will drop out before completion. In most courts, the responsibility for following up with these offenders falls to the treatment provider. Offenders are reported to the probation officer so the court can take action to bring them back into compliance.

As the name implies, intensive supervision programs provide for more intensive supervision of probationers. They offer more frequent monitoring, more treatment services and smaller caseloads per probation officer. One strength of ISP is offenders can be required to see a court monitor and/or counselor two to three times a week in combination with an individual assessment and referral to appropriate treatment providers. Monitoring and frequent contact appear critical to the success of ISPs. ISP programs use several interventions, which can include alcohol abuse treatment, ignition interlocks, home detention, victim impact panels and community supervision. An average duration of the program is four to five months and may be followed by a period of "normal" probation.

ISPs are used in a number of states, including Kansas, Delaware, Nebraska and Minnesota. In Kansas, the program is conducted at the county level for some repeat offenders. The probation period typically lasts two to five years at a cost of $7.65 per day per offender. Offenders in this program would otherwise face incarceration in a state penitentiary at significantly higher expense. Testing, electronic monitoring and community service are part of the program, which calls for treatment sessions three times a week for 30 days, followed by a risk assessment that determines whether the offender will continue treatment two times a week, once every two weeks, or once a month. In Wisconsin, the success of a Milwaukee County ISP program led to the establishment of programs in nine other counties (Brooker 2001).

A Milwaukee County, Wisconsin program often identified as an ISP uses pre-trial treatment and frequent, regular monitoring for repeat offenders prior to conviction. Because the length of time from arrest to conviction can be as much as nine months, the program is designed to provide early intervention. Participation is voluntary and offers offenders hope of a reduced jail sentence. The Milwaukee County ISP program is an alternative to incarceration, not because it eliminates jail time entirely but because it reduces jail time.

In Minnesota, the legislature created an incentive grant for counties choosing to implement intensive probation programs. There are currently about 10 intensive probation programs located in various parts of the state. The Anoka County model program, created in 1987, is for drunk drivers convicted of a third or subsequent DWI offense. These offenders are given a choice of one year in jail or participation in the intensive probation program. All program participants are required to work 40 hours a week while participating in the program. Participants in the intensive probation program are sentenced to one year in jail with approximately 9 months of the sentence suspended on the condition the offender participate in and complete the intensive probation program.

The Anoka County program has four stages:

• Stage one consists of 30–90 days in a minimum-security work release facility where alcohol assessment is conducted and treatment begins.
  
  
• Stage two begins after the completion of the jail sentence and lasts a minimum of two months. During this time, offenders are on house arrest and are placed on probation for 4–6 years. The offender must report each day after work and on weekends to the intensive probation facility until 9 p.m. Each day offenders take a breathalyzer test, receive alcohol treatment on-site and work to maintain the facility.
  
  
• Stage three begins after the primary treatment (or relapse treatment) is completed. Offenders are referred to aftercare, which often consists of on-site participation in Alcoholics Anonymous (the AA program is maintained on-site so as not to disrupt community AA groups, and to verify attendance among participants). During this stage, the number of days the offender is required to spend at the intensive probation facility gradually decreases to one day per week. This stage of the program lasts a minimum of five months. The offender’s sentence is reduced over time based on compliance. There is an immediate response for non-compliance.
  
  
• Stage four is traditional probation and it lasts for the remainder of the offender’s sentence. Violation of the terms of probation can result in a return to a previous stage of the program. Offenders are required to pay for a portion of this program.

A 2000 survey of jail time for DUI offenders in Minnesota found some courts impose jail sentences meeting or exceeding mandatory minimum sentences and then stay the entire sentence, even for hardcore offenders, pending successful completion of the county’s intensive supervision program (Cleary 2000).

Intensive supervision probation programs have been found to be effective and, for those otherwise requiring incarceration, have the advantage of not contributing to an already overcrowded jail population. ISP also has the benefits of reducing the offender’s ability to meet other criminals in jail and offering an incentive to work or attend educational or treatment programs. ISP in Kansas has been found to be effective with certain high-risk populations.

A 1996 study of the Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, ISP program found the probability of recidivism was cut in half (Jones et al. 1996). Several clients told researchers that one reason for the apparent success of the program was the repeated contact with the program and its staff forced them to remember their offense and the reasons they were in the program. The close contact helped them avoid falling back into old patterns of behavior and provided them with direction and support over an extended period of time.

Further evaluation of the Milwaukee program found offenders who did not participate in the ISP program were 10 times more likely to be arrested for driving while suspended or revoked, seven times more likely to be arrested for other types of offenses and nine times more likely to skip court hearings during the pre-trial period.

A 1997 study compared repeat offenders on home confinement with electronic monitoring with offenders on intensive supervision probation and offenders in traditional jail. The study found those on home confinement and ISP with treatment had lower one-year recidivism rates than those who were in jail (Brooker 2001).

A two-year study of the DUII Intensive Supervision Program (DISP) in Multnomah County, Oregon, is currently underway. The study’s goal is to determine if long-term sanctions provided by the DISP program and similar programs are effective. Participating repeat offenders will be randomly assigned to one of four groups: one subject to periodic breath testing and electronic monitoring; one subject to sale of all offender-owned vehicles; one subject to all of the aforementioned sanctions; and a final group subject to only probation. Researchers hypothesize that the group facing the greatest number of sanctions will be the least likely to recidivate.

Boyle, M.D. 1999. Wisconsin’s intoxicated driver intervention program: Decreasing recidivism among repeat offenders through pre-trial intensive supervision. Impaired Driving Update. Kingston, NJ: Civic Research Institute, Inc.

Brooker, R.G. July 2001. Evaluation of Alternatives to Incarceration for Repeat Drunken Driving. Phase 1: Database Search. Milwaukee, WI: The Dieringer Research Group.

Weddig, R. May 1, 2002. DWI offenders get a chance to change through county program. Isanti County News: Isanti, New York.