Validity of Self-reported Criminal Offences and Traffic Violations in Screening 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 criminal 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 profile for this population. DWI offenders (n = 274, mostly first-time) were randomly selected from those who attended the Lovelace Comprehensive Screening Program (LCSP). The self-reported data were compared with records retrieved from the Metropolitan Court in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. Three-quarters of the offenders had had at least one offence 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 offender population indicates the need to use court records to verify self-reported data. For multiple offenders, who have a much higher rate of criminal offences and traffic violations, checking self-reported data against court records becomes more important. In addition, a questionnaire based on offence information could be used to obtain a more complete history of those offences.