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Does Wisconsin have an above-average rate of repeat drunk drivers?

By Jacob Alabab-Moser
YES

The rate of recidivism among drivers convicted for operating while intoxicated in Wisconsin surpasses the national estimate.

The national estimate for the rate of recidivism in operating while intoxicated convictions is 29.5%. That is based on a median calculated by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration using 2007-11 data from 22 states, not including Wisconsin. WisContext estimated Wisconsin's recidivism rate for the same range of years. The average of those estimates is 37.4%  

WisContext found that between 2004 and 2017, the rate of recidivism fell in 61 of Wisconsin's 72 counties. 

The number of OWI convictions and arrests in Wisconsin also has been declining since the late 2000s. And the number of crashes, injuries and fatalities has decreased sharply since the late 1970s, WisContext found.

Wisconsin is the only state in which a first-time OWI offense is considered a civil offense, not a criminal one.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
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