The 24/7 sobriety program is a twenty-four hour, seven day a week monitoring program in which a participant submits to testing in order to determine the presence of alcohol, marijuana, or any controlled substance in their body. RCW 36.28A.300 through 390, created and outline the parameters for the 24/7 Sobriety Program in Washington.
This program provides an alternative to incarceration for participants charged with, arrested for, or convicted of, repeat offenses of RCW 46.61.502 or 46.61.504 and participants convicted of first offense driving under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, or controlled substances as defined in RCW 46.61.5055. Independent studies of other states and jurisdictions note that those agencies that adopt the core components of the program, which include swift and sure sanctions, (usually incarceration) are changing the criminal justice system wherever they have been implemented. Hallmarks of the 24/7 Sobriety Program include:
- Reduction of recidivism rates and impaired driver collisions;
- Enhancement of public safety; and
- Supporting individuals to change self-defeating behaviors and stop re-offending.
The 24/7 Sobriety Program is not intended to be a participant treatment program. It is a program to ensure that participants are monitored and tested for the use of alcohol at least twice daily, that they remain sober, and that they are following court directed activity.