Lehigh Valley, PA – The Lehigh Valley Justice Institute (LVJI) today announced that it has been awarded a grant to study Driving Under the Influence (DUI) arrests occurring in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. “We are pleased that the Franklin County Commissioners, and Criminal Justice Advisory Board members see the quality of our work, and turned to us for answers.” LVJI Executive Director Joseph Welsh stated.

Under the Professional Services Agreement, LVJI will be working with the Franklin/Fulton County Drug and Alcohol Program to analyze why Franklin County has a concerning rate of DUI arrests. LVJI Data Scientist Victoria Wrigley explained that the study has three main components:

1.  What do DUIs in Franklin County look like?

LVJI will examine trends of accidents and stops, the types of intoxicants being used, and offender demographics. This information will help Franklin County get a good picture of the current situation and address the target populations of those committing DUIs.

2.   What does DUI recidivism look like, and how effective is Franklin County’s DUI program?

LVJI will dive into Franklin’s DUI program to quantify DUI recidivism to help Franklin County evaluate their approach to preventing DUIs.

3.   How does Franklin County compare to similar counties?

LVJI will see how Franklin County compares to other counties in terms of the overall crime rate, incarceration rate, and enforcement rate of DUIs.

“In the course of the study, we will utilize our newly acquired geospatial analysis tool to correlate data with geographic locations, giving us an ability to analyze the characteristics of locations where DUI stops and arrests may be clustered,” Wrigley continued.

This is the first project outside of the Lehigh Valley for LVJI. “While LVJI is primarily focused on justice issues in the Lehigh Valley, we are also open to contracting for projects in other parts of the Commonwealth, where our unique data and geographic analysis skills are needed. This allows us to look through a broader lens which enhances our local programming,” Welsh noted.

The Lehigh Valley Justice Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, independent Research, Policy and Advocacy organization, using a scientific, data-driven approach, focused on improving justice system outcomes.

 

Information provided to TVL by:
Joseph E. Welsh
Executive Director
Lehigh Valley Justice Institute
www.LVJI.org

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