Trends and Highlights from the 2024 DWI Sentencing Statistical Report

As 2025 came to a close, the North Carolina Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission published the Driving While Impaired Convictions Statistical Report for Fiscal Year 2024 (hereinafter “the report”). The report provided detailed information and statistics on convictions sentenced pursuant to G.S. 20-179. Because other misdemeanors and felonies are sentenced pursuant to the Structured Sentencing Act, the Commission also separately published a report on Structured Sentencing Statistics, available here. This post covers highlights from the FY 2024 report on DWI convictions and trends relative to the FY 2021 Statistical Report, which my colleague Shea Denning wrote about here. Scope. The report focused on offenses sentenced pursuant to G.S. 20-179. The offenses included in the report were impaired driving, impaired driving in a commercial vehicle, a second or subsequent conviction for operating a commercial vehicle after consuming alcohol, and a second or subsequent conviction for operating a school bus, school activity bus, child care vehicle, ambulance, other EMS vehicle, firefighting vehicle, or law enforcement vehicle after consuming alcohol. It included convictions from July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024. Statewide, this amounts to 24,694 convictions. The report did not include convictions of aiding and abetting DWI and habitual DWI. While sentencing for aiding and abetting DWI is governed by G.S. 20-179, it is always sentenced at a Level 5 (G.S. 20-179(f1)). Moreover, aiding and abetting DWI does not include impaired driving by the defendant as an element. Habitual DWI is not sentenced pursuant to G.S. 20-179. It is a class F felony [...]