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| DWI arrests increasing in Abilene |
| By reporternews.com |
| Published: 03/30/2009 |
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Program helps some offenders avoid going to court By Daralyn Schoenewald (Contact) Sunday, March 29, 2009 So far this year in Abilene 134 people have been arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated — an average of 1.5 arrests each day. Last year 585 people were arrested for DWI, 81 percent more than in 2005. The cost and punishment in Texas is stiff for a DWI offense, but in Taylor County, a 2-year-old program allows a defendant to avoid going to trial. Of the increasing DWI arrests, Abilene Police Sgt. Keith Shackleford said: “Those are just the ones we caught. The problem is, how many don’t we know about?” A person might not be caught by police every time they drive drunk, but Shackleford, commander of the police community services division, said each time someone intoxicated gets behind the wheel it’s one time too many — especially when two of three fatal traffic accidents this year involved drivers suspected of being intoxicated. More drinking and driving? Officials say the spike in arrests is because of increased enforcement by the Abilene Police Department and the implementation of programs such as the “No Refusal Weekend.” A “No Refusal Weekend” allows police to immediately obtain a warrant for a blood specimen if a driver suspected of intoxication refuses a breath test. “I can say that the number of DWIs out on the road most likely aren’t increasing, but rather it is just the fact that the police department is catching them now,” said Abilene Police Sgt. Doug Wrenn. County court at-law judges Robert Harper and Barbara Rollins both point to programs such as the “No Refusal Weekend” as a factor in rising arrests. “No Refusal” weekends on Labor Day and New Year’s Eve last year netted 12 warrant applications. “It’s not good to have a lot of DWIs, but it means police are out there doing their job,” Harper said. Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
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