In late February, AB2127 was introduced in California by Assemblyman Roger Hernández (D-West Covina). This bill would allow convicted drunk drivers to participate in educational, vocational, substance abuse, life skills, or parenting programs in lieu of community service. It would also allow regular worked hours to count toward community services. If passed, the decision to deem what constitutes appropriate ‘community hours’ would be left up to the sheriff’s department rather than the courts.
Interestingly, the issue that has taken center stage in the debate is that Hernández has a recent drunk driving arrest, received while driving a state vehicle. According to San Gabriel Valley Tribune Crime Blogger Frank Girardot, the assemblyman’s interests in this legislation are self-serving, in an attempt to get out of obligations related to the DUI. And that has become a distraction. In reality, the DUI was more than a month AFTER Hernández introduced the bill. Unfortunate: Yes. Self-serving? Not likely.
Instead, the real topic for debate should be the intent of community service in the criminal justice mix.
It’s likely that the intent of the bill was to get offenders working—or in ‘healthy’ programs that would help transition them back into the community. Study after study shows that employment is a strong contributor to long-term success for criminal offenders.
So what is the objective of community service? Is it to be punitive? Educational? Restorative? Or is the goal to require the offender to donate time and services to pay back the community? Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) issued a press release on May 9th urging the California Senate to oppose the bill, saying that it decriminalizes drunk driving, a “fully preventable violent crime.”
Should convicted drunk drivers get community service credit for going to work? Tell us what you think!
