MADISON (NBC 26) — A record number of people convicted of operating while intoxicated were in Wisconsin prisons last year, according to a new report from the Wisconsin Policy Forum.
The report found 2,899 people were imprisoned for OWI offenses in 2024, the highest number on record. That's more than four times the 667 people incarcerated for OWI in 2000.
Researchers say the numbers climb even as OWI arrests continue to decline.
Wisconsin recorded 18,637 OWI arrests in 2025, down from more than 36,700 in 2002. Even with that drop, Wisconsin's arrest rate remains about 50% higher than the national average.
The report also found that the people going to prison for OWI are changing.
Adults 55 and older are now the fastest-growing group behind bars for drunk driving. Since 2010, their incarceration rate has more than tripled. In 2024, there were nearly twice as many people 55 and older imprisoned for OWI as there were adults younger than 35.
Women also make up a larger share of Wisconsin's OWI prison population than they did two decades ago, increasing from 6.4% in 2000 to 11.4% in 2025.
Researchers also found racial disparities. American Indian residents had the state's highest OWI incarceration rate in 2024, while the rate for Black Wisconsinites was about double that of white residents.
The report says impaired driving continues to have deadly consequences.
From 2015 through 2023, 1,716 people were killed in crashes involving a driver over the legal alcohol limit. In 2023, alcohol-impaired driving accounted for 31% of all traffic deaths in Wisconsin.
One finding surprised researchers: Nearly two-thirds of drivers involved in fatal or serious injury alcohol-related crashes had never been convicted of OWI before.
The report points to Wisconsin's drinking culture as one factor behind the state's long-running struggle with impaired driving. It notes Wisconsinites drink and binge drink at rates above the national average and are less likely than people nationally to view binge drinking as risky.
The Wisconsin Policy Forum does not recommend a specific solution but says policymakers could consider options including lowering the legal blood alcohol limit to 0.05%, expanding OWI courts, increasing access to treatment programs, and raising alcohol taxes.
