Deterring Rearrests for Drinking and Driving.

This study assesses why some individuals are re-arrested for driving while intoxicated (DWI). Using longitudinal data from North Carolina containing information on arrests and arrest outcomes, we test hypotheses that individuals prosecuted and convicted of DWI are less likely to be re-arrested for DWI. We allow for possible endogeneity of prosecution and conviction outcomes by using instrumental variables for the prosecutor's prosecution rate and the judge's conviction rate. With a three-year follow-up, the probability of DWI re-arrest was reduced by 6.6 percent if the person was prosecuted for DWI and, for those prosecuted, by 24.5 percent if convicted on this charge. Prosecution and conviction for DWI deters re-arrest for DWI.