The recidivist drink-driver programme, the brainchild of Waitaki community safety officer Alison Banks and Senior Constable Ross Lory, of Oamaru police, will be launched by Judge Stephen O'Driscoll at the Oamaru courthouse today.
Prior to sentencing, drink-drivers appearing in the Oamaru District Court will view a DVD containing footage from television programme Police 10-7, as well as locally filmed incidents.
It will show the effects a drink-driver can have on victims and their families.
The mother and brother of Casey Devon (15), who was killed in a crash at Waitaki Bridge last year, feature in the presentation.
After viewing the DVD, the drink-driver will be questioned by the sitting judge.
Their answers and attitudes will be taken into consideration during sentencing.
When contacted yesterday, Judge O'Driscoll said he was initially approached as to whether he might, as part of the sentencing process, sentence offenders to watch a DVD on drink-driving.
He felt he had no jurisdiction to make that order and thought it would be more appropriate for those who came to court on drink-driving matters to watch the DVD at the court, prior to sentencing.
Asked what appealed to him about the initiative, he said it was innovative.
It put education about drink-driving and the sentencing process "in the same place at the same time", and it involved local content, he said.
Earlier this month, Judge Dominic Flatley noted the Queenstown district's drink-driving culture dominating the court's time - the third judge in as many months to observe that.
Asked whether he held similar concerns about Oamaru and the other courts in which he sat, Judge O'Driscoll said he had similar concerns in Alexandra and Balclutha as he did in Oamaru.
He had viewed the DVD and was impressed with the way it had been compiled.
"It's short, it's sharp and it's got a message.
''It's a tool which hasn't been used before which I hope might make an impact on drink-driving," he said.
The programme's success would be determined by follow-up research.
If the evidence proved it was successful, it certainly had potential to be used in other courts, he said.
Mrs Banks and Snr Const Lory said in a statement people were "sick and tired of the current system which recycles recidivist drunk-drivers."
The initiative would make offenders accountable for their actions before they were sentenced.
The aim was to have offenders see first-hand the effects of drink-driving on parents, families and the community, they said.
"It is about the recidivist offenders choosing to get help before getting their licence back instead of getting back behind the wheel and destroying the lives of others.
"It is about making the roads civilised and a safe place for law abiding New Zealanders.
''It is about stopping these people making more victims.
''And if they choose to continue to drive drunk, these destructive killers need to be kept off our roads permanently."
