Crown Point Officer Top Cop in DUI Arrests

DRUNK DRIVING: More than half the force works on the DUI Task Force

Story courtesy of The Times

CROWN POINT | More than half of the Crown Point police force signed up last year to work special drunken driving patrols and their hard work showed.

The Crown Point force led 16 Lake County police departments in driving while intoxicated stops in 2004.

Officer Larry Scott had 70 DUI arrests, more than any other officer from any of the 16 participating departments. He and others were honored Friday for the number of arrests made in 2004.

Crown Point Police Chief Keith Hefner said his officers routinely fill in any extra slots that may be left over after all other departments sign up for the DUI patrols.

"The guys could just put in their eight hours, but they make the extra effort and it has a carry-over effect to the good," Hefner said. "Most people know they're safer in our streets. It's been over four years since our last DUI fatality."

Hefner said the department has been criticized in the past for being too aggressive, but he'd rather his officers stop things before they get so bad that residents have to call in and complain.

"When people speed by my house I want to know, 'Where are the cops?' " Hefner said.

Just before Labor Day, Officer Steve Rudzinski, chairman of the Lake County DUI Task Force, accepted a check for $16,978 to buy portable breath tests for police officers throughout the county.

Those portable units help by keeping officers on the road, Sheriff Rogelio "Roy" Dominguez said. If an officer does not have a portable unit, the suspect must be taken to the Lake County Jail for testing.

"This way, if the driver scores less than the legal limit of 0.08 and the officer believes they can drive, they can send the driver on his way," Dominguez said.

The sheriff said 37 percent of all fatal crashes in Indiana are a result of excessive alcohol consumption, which makes Hefner even more proud of not having a DUI death in four years.

"The side effect of seeing lights and sirens is that public and the bad guys have the perception there's more guys out there than there really are. That in itself keeps people safer."

Story Link

By: Ruthann Robinson
www.nwitimes.com

Trademark and Copyright 2003 -2006 by the Crown Point Police Department, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. All materials published on the Site are protected by copyright, and owned or controlled by the City of Crown Point or The Crown Point Police Department, or the party listed as the provider of the content, software or other materials. Commercial use of the materials is prohibited without the written permission of The Crown Point Police Department.

All D.A.R.E. content is Trademark and Copyright 2001 by D.A.R.E. America, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. All D.A.R.E. materials published on the Site are protected by copyright, and owned or controlled by D.A.R.E. America, or the party listed as the provider of the content, software or other materials. Commercial use of the materials is prohibited without the written permission of D.A.R.E. America.

UNAUTHORIZED COPYING, REPRODUCTION, REPUBLISHING, UPLOADING, DOWNLOADING, POSTING, TRANSMITTING OR DUPLICATING ANY OF THE MATERIAL IS PROHIBITED. You may download or copy any downloadable materials displayed on the Site for home, noncommercial and personal use only, provided that you maintain all copyright, trademark and other notices contained in such material and you agree to abide by all additional copyright notices, information or restrictions contained in any material accessed through the Site.