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Upstate Police Agencies Win Dodge Chargers |
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"Upstate Police Agencies Win Dodge Chargers" - courtesy of GreenvilleOnline.com
Spartanburg, SC - Three Upstate law enforcement agencies -- out of more than 160 statewide -- have been awarded Dodge Charger police vehicles for excelling in a nine-month long traffic enforcement initiative.
The vehicles were awarded to the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office, the Travelers Rest Police Department and the Anderson Police Department.
The Anderson Police Department also was awarded a checkpoint trailer and equipment.
The Highway Patrol and State Transport Police also received incentive items.
The agencies were acknowledged for increasing safety belt use, slowing down speeders and reducing impaired and aggressive driving. The initiative ran from Dec. 14, 2007 to Sept. 1, 2008.
South Carolina Department of Public Safety Director Mark Keel said, ""Because these vehicles will be used strictly for traffic enforcement, the communities that these agencies serve are the true winners. High-visibility patrols are instrumental in reducing traffic collisions, which in turn saves lives.""
Next year, up to 16 cars and two SUVs, all fully equipped with police packages, will be awarded. To qualify to win a car, agencies will participate in a traffic initiative focusing on DUI enforcement.
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More Police Learning To Draw Blood |
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Excerpt From Article "More Police Learning To Draw Blood" - courtesy of The Arizona Republic
Steve Sumner Comments "The war on DUI gets more scary...."
If you're drunk behind the wheel in Arizona, chances are increasing that an officer might draw your blood to prove it.
During the past 15 years, most large law-enforcement agencies statewide have moved from using Breathalyzers in favor of using blood to determine alcohol levels.
Thanks to a grant from the federal government, more small and midsize police forces are putting officers through a five-day course to learn the art of phlebotomy.
The grant allowed the Governor's Office of Highway Safety to put about 170 officers through the program this year, in addition to the 100 it paid for last year.
The money is part of a $4.5 million grant package the state annually receives because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration considers Arizona an "opportunity state," with nearly one-third of its traffic fatalities tied to drinking.
"Breath testing is primarily used throughout the state, but blood is being used more and more," said Alan Haywood, a Department of Public Safety officer and program coordinator. "We call it the CSI effect: Juries and judges want evidence, and they like the blood."
Defense attorneys aren't quite as pleased. The move toward blood-only testing has removed a key underpinning of a DUI defense: faulty equipment.
Tucson attorney James Nesci wrote a book about DUI defense in Arizona, and he claims to have had more than 400 results from Breathalyzer tests thrown out of courts in Pima County.
He has one message for his clients: Cooperate. The police are going to get the evidence they need one way or the other.
"In Florida, they can't draw blood, period. In places like California, it's the motorists' choice on what type of test to take. In Arizona, it's the cop's choice," he said. "If the cop chooses blood or breath or urine here, and you refuse to take the test, you lose your license for 12 months."
Nesci said his greater concern is with officers drawing blood during tense situations.
"You need a license to cut hair in Arizona, but you don't need a license to puncture a vein and draw blood. That in and of itself is frightening," he said. "There are a couple (of) other things that go along with that. Was the person who drew your blood mad at you? Was it an adversarial situation?"
The state requires officers to draw blood from 100 patients successfully as part of the training. They must maintain their qualification with a minimum of 24 blood-draws each year.
That brings many officers to the lab at Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center, which processes 300 to 400 patients for blood work each day.
It gives officers a good sense of what they may experience on duty, said Mary McCormack, the center's procurement and distribution supervisor.
"We've got everything in here from the healthiest man in the world to an IV-drug user. That's what they're going to see in the real world," she said.
Kori Greene, a Pima County Sheriff's Deputy stationed near Ajo, was in the lab earlier this month. She said the hands-on training made her more comfortable with the prospect of drawing blood from a DUI suspect on the side of the road.
"I was nervous until we came in here," she said. "Coming in here and actually getting to do the draws on people helped."
Greene rolled up her sleeves to show the good (clean marks) and bad (deep bruises) effects of the officers' practicing on each other last week after a little time inserting needles into a dummy.
The discomfort was worth it, Greene said, because with only two officers in her district trained as phlebotomists, resources often are stretched thin.
Lt. Greg Shepherd, patrol commander with the Coolidge Police Department, said that the grant funding paid for six officers to complete the training this year. That equates to more officers on their beats and less time spent transporting suspects from the scene to a station where they can meet a trained phlebotomist, all within the window when it is legally allowed to obtain a blood sample.
Other states have been slower to embrace blood as a determinant in DUI cases, which leaves Arizona on something of an island, Nesci said. Still, it's an island that results in fewer suspects refusing to take a test for blood-alcohol levels, Haywood said, and in more convictions.
"New Hampshire has upward of 80 percent refusal rate. Very few people in New Hampshire get prosecuted for DUI," Haywood said. "Statewide in Arizona, we have an 8 percent or less refusal rate. One thing we can say in (Arizona): We have the toughest DUI laws in the nation and a greater percentage of convictions and prosecutions." |
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First-Time Driving Offenders Don't Get Off Easy |
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Excerpt From Article "First-time driving offenders don't get off easy' - courtesy of CNN.com
Steve Sumner Notes "The good old days are over…"
Now, for the heavy stuff: drunken driving, known as DUI or DWI depending on your state.
In 2006 there were 15,201 alcohol-related fatalities; drivers with blood alcohol content (BAC) with readings of 0.08 or above. This booze-fueled carnage has led governments, law enforcement and other concerned groups to increase their emphasis on ridding the roads of drunken drivers.
The ongoing, heightened efforts of MADD -- Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the National Transportation Safety Board and the Century Council (which is supported by the nation's distillers), are engaged in aggressive programs to stop drunken driving throughout the country.
Their strategies include advertising, education and behavioral change programs. More importantly, serious lobbying for higher penalties has increased, including greater punishments for first-time drunken driving offenders as well as chronic violators.
Fines, penalties, secondary costs and the total negative impact can get downright damaging, oftentimes irreversibly, for first-time offenders.
Depending on where you are arrested for drunken driving and how much blood alcohol level (BAC) your tests show -- plus any additional violations on your record such as reckless driving or speeding -- penalties vary across the nation.
In many states, first offenders are treated quite severely. Here's why: Department of Transportation research from 2006 shows that 54 percent of all impaired drivers involved in fatal crashes were under age 34, with 13 percent between the ages of 16 and 20, making that new driver group most apt to be first-time DUI offenders.
MADD's Operation Memorial Day Court Monitoring Project mirrors national trends with observations in 11 states reflecting national data. It shows that the majority of drunken driving offenders are first-time "arrestees," not first-time drunken drivers, the average age of offenders is 21 to 34 and research shows that first-time offenders arrested for drunken driving have driven drunk more than 87 times before their first arrest. Two-thirds of those whose licenses are suspended for DUI drive anyway.
Even though first-time offenders are in for more serious punishment these days, most states still have a two-tier system with even more serious penalties for repeat DUI offenders and felony drunken driving crime. Currently in all 50 states the BAC for determining drunken driving is .08.
High BAC offenders, especially repeaters, are commonly sentenced to serve higher mandatory jail time such as Florida's nine months versus six months for lower BAC violators. Arizona gives high BACers 30 days compared to 10 for lower BAC offenders and, if you've had two or more for the road, stay away from New Hampshire. There, a .16 BAC can get you an entire year in jail, a full 365 days.
Are higher BAC violators rare? Not at all. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that half of all drivers arrested and half of those convicted of DWI have BACs above .15.
In New York, for example, the two-tier system works as follows: DWI (Driving While Intoxicated or Impaired) is based on a BAC of .08 or higher, while the lower penalty DWAI (Driving While Ability Impaired, which could cover prescription drug effects, etc.) is based on a .05 or higher (which might apply more often, although not necessarily, to first-time offenders).
Even if you get off with only that smaller DWAI fine in New York, do not believe other states are as lenient. Elsewhere, the hole in your pocket can be the size of a 5.9 hemi cylinder bore: up to $5,000 in Indiana, $3,000 in Minnesota and $2,000 in New Hampshire. The smallest listed fines by states are in the $300-500 range but generally include other penalties such as mandatory rehab attendance, community service work, an ignition interlock, loss of license for a period and even some jail time. |
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Police To Get Crash Course On New Alcohol Breathalyzer Machines |
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Courtesy of Beaufort Gazzette
By PATRICK DONOHUE
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843-986-5531
Over the next five months, nearly 100 law enforcement officers from northern Beaufort County will be trained to use new state-of-the-art breathalyzers, as the state prepares to implement tougher DUI laws.
With a one-time, $1.8-million appropriation earlier this year from Gov. Mark Sanford's office, the S.C. Law Enforcement Division purchased more than 400 DataMaster DMT alcohol breath-testing machines and will begin distributing them to law enforcement agencies across the state early next year.
The new Windows-based operating systems will replace the BAC DataMaster breath analyzer machines that state law enforcement has been using for more than 20 years.
"The new machines are more user-friendly, have touch screens, are easier to read and operate and also allow the officer to immediately scan drivers' licenses rather than having to manually input information into SLED's database," said Melissa Munn, spokeswoman for the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy in Columbia.
Police from around the state will be trained on the equipment at the academy.
Each machine costs approximately $10,000, but the individual departments won't pay for them or any related maintenance costs, Munn said.
"The machines are furnished for the departments by SLED and are all maintained by contractors paid by SLED," she said. "The departments have no initial expense and don't have to pay for the machines ... even the printer paper is furnished by SLED for the first year."
Beaufort County owns two of the old machines and will receive two new machines.
The new machines will begin being used by area law enforcement at noon Feb. 10, the date when new, stricter state DUI laws go into effect.
"The transition to the new machines will take a matter of seconds," Munn said. "On Feb. 10, at noon, all of the old BAC DataMaster machines across the state will automatically become inoperable and the new DMT machines will become fully functional. At that point, state agencies will then be required to use only the new DMT machine."
New laws call for tougher penalties for first-time offenders, such as requiring them to enroll in drug and alcohol treatment programs,and remove community service as a sentencing option for second and subsequent offensives. The law also allows for a tiered penalty system with greater punishments for those found to be grossly intoxicated.
Approximately 4,440 officers statewide who are certified on the old machines need to be trained on the new machines, including 96 in northern Beaufort County, according to the justice academy.
Officers are being required to complete a four-hour DataMaster certification course to operate the new equipment, as well as become educated about the new DUI laws. |
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Thousands Of DWI Cases Put In Jeopardy |
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Inspector faked her checks of devices that test breath, DPS says
By MARY FLOOD Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Thousands of drunken-driving cases in the Houston area could be dismissed because of an inspector of alcohol breath test machines who didn't conduct the examinations she claimed to have completed.
The Texas Department of Public Safety announced Friday that it suspended the certification for a woman who contracted to keep the breath test machines accurate for the Clute, Friendswood, Galveston, League City, Pearland, Seabrook, South Houston and Webster police departments.
DPS said she altered electronic records to make it appear she'd tested and adjusted the calibrations of machines when she had not.
DPS officials said the woman, an independent contractor with each of the municipalities, had been falsifying records for up to a year and that would affect at least 2,600 DWI charges. The Texas Rangers are conducting the criminal investigation.
She has not been charged with any crime.
The inspector has been a breath test supervisor since the mid-1990s, according to DPS.
Defense lawyers said they would expect any charges filed in cases in which she testified or monitored going back years to be challenged.
"These are serious allegations, and we will not tolerate any activities that call into question the integrity of the breath test system. I want to emphasize that DPS discovered these irregularities and took immediate action," said Col. Stan Clark, interim director of the DPS, in a news release.
DPS spokeswoman Tela Mange said the problem was discovered in a routine audit last week; the inspector was suspended on Thursday; and DPS met with the prosecutors in Harris, Galveston and Brazoria counties Friday to discuss the next steps.
The news was troubling for the police departments whose work might be undone.
"It's sickening," said Clute Police Chief Mark Wicker. "It's very disturbing."
He said the woman was hired in his city in mid-2006. "I didn't see her a whole lot, but she had a key and could have come in at night," Wicker said.
He said 46 DWI cases in Clute and the cities of Freeport and Richwood, which also used Clute's machine, could be in trouble.
South Houston Police Chief Herbert Gilbert said his city paid her $8,500 a year to take care of their machine. Now, he said, about 330 cases his officers worked hard to make could be in jeopardy.
"It could make all the officers did on the streets be for naught," Gilbert said.
Defense attorneys who handle DWI cases were outraged for different reasons.
"We shouldn't be going around giving people criminal records that will last the rest of their lives based on this woman's violation of the public trust," said Mark Bennett, who said the inspector was a witness in a DWI case he handled.
Troy McKinney, a Houston lawyer who specializes in DWI appeals, said this is especially tragic given that there are already questions about the science of these tests and a DWI conviction can be career changing for people.
He said he expects many people convicted or accused of DWI in these eight municipalities will hire lawyers to try to reverse convictions or get current cases dismissed. But McKinney cautioned that when there is other evidence, such as field sobriety tests or videos of the defendants, the cases may not go away just because of the breath test. If the woman testified in a trial, it might just be retried, he said.
Filing false government documents or perjury for testimony about the machines could both be possible charges against the inspector, attorneys said.
Harris County District Attorney Kenneth Magidson said in a news release that his office "has not announced" any charges.
"Our first and foremost goal is to ensure that justice is done. We are working closely with DPS to determine which, if any, cases may have been tainted by flawed or unreliable evidence," Magidson said in the release.
Richard Magness, Brazoria County first assistant district attorney, said authorities will get the names of the cases in question from DPS, notify the attorneys involved and review each case.
He said it is not yet determined whether any charges will be filed against the inspector.
Joel Bennett, Galveston County first assistant district attorney, said his office will also review DWI cases.
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Police Checkpoint Seeks Illegal Guns |
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Public Safety Checkpoint taken to new level...
Courtesy of lohud.com
MOUNT VERNON - Drivers entering the city from the Bronx via First Avenue last night encountered the first police checkpoint searching for illegal guns.
Amid flashing lights and flares in the roadway, more than a dozen officers were pulling over every third car to ask for permission to search for guns and check for other crimes such as drunken driving.
Within minutes of the checkpoint's opening shortly after 9 p.m., the first arrest was made when a driver failed a field sobriety test.
"The officer did a field sobriety test and smelled some marijuana on him. He refused to do more sobriety checks. We'll bring him to our headquarters and he'll do a urine test there. So, it's already working," said Sgt. Brian Hess of the Westchester County police.
But the goal for the night was to find guns and stop them from coming into Mount Vernon, a city that's already had seven homicides this year.
Mayor Clinton Young said the "bold initiative" sends a strong message to the public that something is being done to stop gun violence.
"We're also sending a very strong and clear message to criminals: Don't come to Mount Vernon for criminal activity. Period," he said.
Young said the checkpoints will continue.
"Unfortunately, we do know who is committing these crimes. We do have some gang influence in the city of Mount Vernon. We're not sinking our heads in the sand and ignoring it. We're dealing with this head-on," he said.
Police Commissioner David Chong said his department was receiving help in the form of manpower and logistics from the Westchester County police, the Metropolitan Transit Authority, the county Department of Probation and the New York City Police Department.
Mount Vernon is in the grip of a "gundemic," Chong said, and he hopes the checkpoints will be a partial cure.
"If this initiative prevents one violent crime from happening in the city, the mayor and myself feel it would be a successful initiative," he said.
On the streets last night, people watching the police activity gave the effort a cautious endorsement.
Resident Harry Ragubir, an auto parts delivery driver, said he'd like to see the police out doing the checkpoints frequently.
"Recently there have been so many shootings in Mount Vernon, so it's obvious that it's a good idea," he said. "If they make this a regular thing, I think it's going to be safer around here."
Wesley Robb, a resident of Yonkers and father of three school-age children who was visiting friends in Mount Vernon, said he wanted to see guns off the streets.
"I have kids growing up, and I don't want them growing up with violence," he said.
But Ricky Ropnaran of Mount Vernon was more skeptical.
"For one thing, there are too much police out there. People will see it, and they'll find ways to get around," he said.
Winston Martin, a resident of the Bronx going to a friend's party in Mount Vernon, was one of the drivers pulled over. He allowed officers to search his car.
"They asked me to search it, so I signed a paper to search it. I'm clean. I don't have anything in there to hide. I don't mind," he said. "I have no problem with it." |
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Texting While Driving More Dangerous Than DUI |
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Courtesy of DUIArresthelp.com
California governor Arnold “The Terminator” Schwarzenegger signed a bill yesterday banning text messaging while driving. The text messaging law will go into effect January 1, 2009.
If someone is caught texting while driving they face a fine of $20 for a first offense and $50 for each additional offense.
There are also claims that text messaging while driving is more dangerous than drinking and driving. A number of people who text message while they drive on a regular basis have said that they have had numerous close calls varying from almost hitting people while crossing the street to rear-ending the vehicle in front of them.
So if text messaging while driving is said to be more dangerous than a person who has a couple drinks with dinner and drives home and gets arrested for DUI, why is it that people who get stopped for texting while driving only get a slap on the wrist with a ticket and a $20 fine?
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