Southwest Idaho DUI Arrests Predicted to Reach 600 Mark By Years' End

The Idaho State Police Department (ISP) has estimated that Southwest Idaho DUI arrests for 2008 will reach the six hundred mark, if the present arrest rate continues through the end of December. The average number of DUI arrests made by Region 3 officers between 2003 and 2007 was 294. Southwest Idaho's Region 3 is composed of ten counties which are home to more than half of all of Idaho's residents.

In response to these statistics, Idaho State Police Commander Captain Steve Richardson stated, "I have to say that I have mixed feelings about this statistic. On one hand, I'm pleased to see our troopers so highly effective in detecting and arresting drunk drivers, and getting them off the road before they can cause a crash. Yet, on the other hand, I must admit I'm dismayed that we continue to find no shortage of DUI drivers to arrest. We've substantially increased our enforcement efforts...but it is sad commentary to see so many people still out there, driving under the influence and endangering themselves and others on Idaho highways."

In early October, ISP announced the formation of a Region 3 DUI Strike Team, which utilizes law enforcement officers with an exemplary record of DUI enforcement in order to conduct roving DUI patrols at night. According to Region 3 Sergeant John Stauffer, with the added support of advanced potable breath testing devices, the DUI Strike Team has been able to average at least one driving under the influence arrest per officer per shift. On a particularly successful night, twelve individuals suspected of driving under the influence were arrested and removed from Southwestern Idaho's roads.

Despite the DUI Strike Team's success, Captain Richardson asserted, "I'd truly like to think that we'll not reach the 600 DUI mark for our region. If that happens, it won't be because our troopers have slackened their efforts to find and arrest DUI drivers. We'll be working harder than ever over the holidays to keep Idaho roads safe. It will only happen if people take it upon themselves to decide even before they take that first drink, that they will not drink and drive."

In a recent report released by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the state of Idaho ranked tenth in their efforts to combat drunk driving. Despite this reasonably high ranking on MADD's State Progress Report, comments from MADD indicated that there is still significant room for improvement due to the fact that the Idaho state legislature has deemed sobriety checkpoints unconstitutional.

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