FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE :  Thursday, February 7, 2013
CONTACT:  Sara Rabern (605)773-3215   

 
Attorney General 24/7 Sobriety Program Receives National Recognition for
Innovative Criminal Justice Practices

 
PIERRE, S.D.-    Attorney General Marty Jackley announced today that the South Dakota 24/7 Sobriety Program has been selected as one of 10 Criminal Justice Innovations for 2013 by the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys (APA), the  U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Center for Court Innovation.

The South Dakota 24/7 Sobriety Program will be highlighting along with 9 other innovative criminal justice practices from February 19-21, 2013 at the Criminal Justice Summit in Florida. This summit will bring together a multi-disciplinary audience of criminal justice leaders to discuss initiatives which are creating more efficiency and effectiveness in criminal justice system. The summit will highlight innovative criminal justice programs across the nation and will provide participants with the skills necessary to implement or replicate these practices in their own jurisdiction.

“The 24/7 Sobriety Program is truly making a difference in our communities through the efforts of local sheriff’s offices and our program coordinator Art Mabry. An offender pay program that addresses addiction and reduces the likelihood of further criminal activity deserves this recognition.”

The 24/7 Sobriety Program, which was established in 2005 as a pilot program, began with a twice-a-day preliminary breath test. Since 2005, 5.6 million preliminary breath tests have been administered to 27,994 participants with a pass rate of 99.2 percent. Since 2006, alcohol monitoring bracelets have monitored 4,995 participants for 743,233 days of which 77 percent were compliant. Since 2007, 75,554 urinalysis tests have been administered to 3,020 participants with a pass rate of 96.7 percent, and 1,784 drug patch tests have been administered to160 participants with a pass rate of 88.6 percent.

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