Drunk drivers could avoid jail

18 March 2013 - 02:39 By PHILANI NOMBEMBE
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Drivers convicted of drunk driving in Western Cape might soon be spared being sent to jail but forced to undergo therapy instead.

SA Breweries and the National Institute for Crime Prevention and the Reintegration of Offenders on Friday launched in Cape Town what they call an alcohol and road offences initiative.

The initiative provides for drivers convicted and sentenced for drunken driving to take part in a "special educational, therapeutic programme" run by the institute.

Offenders will avoid jail time but will still have a criminal record.

Soraya Solomon, the institute's CEO, said sending drunk drivers to prison would only exacerbate the problem .

"If we are to fight driving under the influence of alcohol in a meaningful way, we cannot simply punish [offenders] without addressing faulty thinking patterns and the behaviours that result [from them]," said Solomon at the launch of the initiative.

"Not only do offenders avoid going to trial and the possibility of incarceration, they are also given the opportunity to change unacceptable behaviour, repair the damage they have caused and acquire fundamental life skills to avoid further problems with alcohol."

Vincent Maphai, SA Breweries' corporate affairs executive director, said drunk driving gave the beer brewer a headache.

He said the initiative would take "the pressure off our prosecution and justice system so that it can focus on cases more serious than minor traffic lapses".

"[We have] been involved in [promoting] responsible consumption of alcohol for a while now. We built alcohol training centres designed to speed up the collection of evidence and prosecutions.

"Then we discovered this one - giving first offenders the chance of rehabilitation instead of going straight to jail. That is where [the institute] came in."

The initiative will be piloted in Cape Town.

Maphai said it would be introduced to the rest of the country if the pilot were successful.

Hisham Mohamed, Western Cape head of the Department of Justice , welcomed the move .

"If [the institute] approaches us to partner it, we will certainly be interested," Mohammed said.

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