DUI enforcement to increase
 By
Heather Mangold
City Editor
Local law enforcement
will be increased until Friday as police work a DUI taskforce in an
effort to decrease the amount of intoxicated drivers on the streets.
Beginning Aug. 16,
officers from the Lafayette police, West Lafayette police, the Tippecanoe
Sheriff's department and the Purdue police department will increase
manpower on the streets in order to enforce a new law put into effect
July 1. The law lowers the legal blood alcohol level to .08 percent,
from the former legal limit of .10 percent.
The taskforce, begun
in July, is now taking place and will also be enforced for a period
of time in Sept.
During July, 102
impaired drivers were arrested.
"Seventeen percent
were arrested by officers working on the DUI taskforce," said Lt. Jeanette
Bennett of the Lafayette police department.
Three of those 102
drivers were at the .08 or .09 limit. Also arrested by officers on the
taskforce were six people wanted on warrants and 19 for driving with
suspended licenses. Another 184 other citations or warnings were issued
by officers on the taskforce during that time.
On weekends, three
to five additional officers will patrol the streets.
"With school starting
back up we want to set the tone for the year and to let students know
we're not going to tolerate impaired drivers," said Bennett.
The taskforce not
only follows the .08 law, but also contributes to a campaign launched
by Gov. Frank O'Bannon's office. The "You drink and drive, You lose"
campaign has added to the state's efforts to keep intoxicated motorists
of the street.
Laws and slogans
are not the only actions taken by Indiana officials.
A special prosecutor,
being funded by the Governor's Council, will deal only with impaired
driving cases, said Bennett.
Officers on patrol
for the taskforce will look for people driving too slowly, crossing
center lines and running red lights, in addition to other signs that
indicate intoxicated driving. If officers stop a suspect for driving
under the influence of alcohol, they may take further action if the
driver has the smell of alcohol on his or her breath, if eyes are bloodshot
or if speech is slurred, said Bennett.
"These are signs
to take further steps such as the field sobriety testing where we use
portable breathalyzers for initial testing on the street," said Bennett.
"If they test .08 or close to it (officers) may ask them to come in."
The taskforce program
is in its pilot stages, currently being tested on nine counties, including
Tippecanoe County.
"One of the reasons
they picked us was because of the University," said Bennett. "That's
why we determined this would be a good thing."
The national highway
and traffic safety association gave federal dollars to the Governor's
Council who in turn dispersed the money throughout the state. Tippecanoe
County was given $15,000 for the three-month period between July and
Sept. to pay taskforce officers overtime to patrol the streets. Other
counties included in the pilot program are Marion, Hamilton, Vigo, Lake,
Grant, Steuben, Porter and Allen. The counties consist of 39 police
departments, 7 sheriff departments and the Indiana State Police.
"The Council will
give approximately a half a million dollars to the taskforces for overtime
enforcement and equipment needs," said Jerry McCory, director of the
Governor's Council, in a press release.
These dollars will
enable each taskforce to conduct saturation patrols in a release where
alcohol-related crashes are high and to help deter drunk driving.
The taskforce ends
on Friday, in part because of the start of Operation Pull Over which
begins Sunday and ends Sept. 8. Operation Pull Over is a program also
sponsored by the Governor's Council on impaired and dangerous drivers.
According to a news
release, the West Lafayette police department along with more than 180
law enforcement agencies across the state will have officers enforcing
traffic laws on regular days off and added shifts.
Between Sunday and
Sept. 8, West Lafayette police will also conduct seat belt enforcement
zones, which will be set up in various locations throughout the city
to check for usage of seatbelts.
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