flexibility in the process such as eliminating the requirements that the blood draw must be done in a licensed medical facility and by medical facility staff. Require Ignition Interlock Devices to Get a Temporary Alcohol License After a Refusal Suspension. The South Carolina Senate passed this change in 2019, 2021, and 2023, but it was removed in the House before the all-offender ignition interlock device law passed in 2023. Having an IID to obtain driving privileges while the administrative suspension hearing is pending is an appropriate penalty for refusing and would protect the public from high-risk drivers. As one legislator described the idea, “it’s an ankle monitor for the car.” Establish in Law that Past Reckless Driving Convictions Can Be Considered for Advanced Penalties. Far too often, people convicted of DUI in South Carolina have a prior arrest for DUI that was pled down, typically to reckless driving. The data in this report make that very clear. A judge should definitely have this knowledge of prior DUI arrests that were pled down available during sentencing to factor in that this is likely a behavior that has occurred before and not a “first time” mistake. Again, this is not an exhaustive list of ideas, but they would be an excellent start toward having DUI laws that would protect the public and reduce repeat offenses. Focus Area #2: Prosecute DUIs in a Manner that Reflects the Seriousness of the Crime In the data above, one of the important analyses we conducted was comparing the conviction rates for areas that we observe to provide substantial prosecution resources to DUIs to those areas that don’t. The contrast in the rates, high prosecution areas having double the conviction rates of low prosecution areas, is clear—the culture of prosecution for DUIs is connected to the case outcomes, which ultimately connects to our safety on the roads. We highlight this with an optimistic intent—prosecution agencies can increase their conviction rates if they’re willing to provide the leadership and resources. What does a higher level of prosecution support look like? It looks like: • A genuine willingness to take a case to trial rather than give in to the demands of a defense attorney for a lesser charge (when the facts of the case support that) • Officers rarely bearing the burden of acting in a prosecution role by providing prosecutors to oversee all but the most straightforward cases • Internal processes where supervisors must sign off on plea deals to avoid a culture of this become too commonplace • Being careful not to overload one prosecutor with all the DUIs, one of the most complex prosecutions to handle, so their backlog does not end up being a factor in their willingness to plea down cases • “DUI Courts” or “DUI Week” where DUI cases are concentrated into one location or time frame for efficiency and hopefully utilizing a judge with experience in DUI cases
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