Swift and certain -- that's a criminal justice theory about punishment as a way of deterring future crime. It's a component of a successful 10 year old program in South Dakota which aims to curtail drunk driving.
Dr. Keith Humphreys tells us about it in A Simple Fix for Drunken Driving. And it is simple. Instead of trying to stop a drunk from driving, which is what most programs attempt to do, stop him/her from drinking.
They accomplish this with twice a day breathalyzer tests. Stay sober - confirmed with tests -- or spend a night or two in jail. A swift and certain punishment which most of the offenders seek to avoid.
However, the program hasn't caught on in other jurisdictions as quickly as one might assume. Dr. Humphreys suggests that one of the reasons why is because there is resistance from addiction professionals, which, by the way, aren't necessary for such programs to work.
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