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Friday, July 30th, 2010
Our Orange County DUI Lawyers have learned, through the Orange County Register, that the Huntington Beach police department has found new ways to crack down on those who drink and drive after reports that the city has a “significant” problem with drunken drivers.
The department has announced an aggressive new DUI strategy that includes posting the names of DUI arrestees on their website, sending letters to restaurants that they believe are fueling drunken driving, and adding a third officer to a specialized DUI team. City officials began distributing the letters in the spring and are still reviewing the name postings and adding the third officer.
The strategy  laid out in 16-page report given to the City Council this month  said the city has a serious drunken driving problem.
Statistics show that in 2008 Huntington Beach had the third most DUI drivers in the state for a city of its size. Huntington Beach has about 201,000 residents.
Huntington Beach had about 1,000 more DUI arrests in 2008 than Irvine, a city with a similar population size, and 900 more arrests than Anaheim, a city with population almost double Huntington Beach’s.
Police DUI strategies may differ in each city in part because of the dynamics of that area, officials said.
“We try to find one that fits the needs of the community,” said Irvine police spokesman Lt. John Hare.
Irvine’ police department posts all of the names of arrestees on their website but does not have a specific list of DUI suspects. If a commander in charge of a certain geographical area of Irvine notices a trend in drunken driving they will approach a particular establishment, Hare said.
In Fullerton, which has a concentrated area of establishments that serve alcohol similar to Surf City’s downtown, police have been working with bar owners to help servers better identify when a customer has had too much to drink, said Fullerton police Cprl. Tim Kandler. They do not post name of DUI arrestees on their website, he said.
Huntington Beach police spokesman Lt. Russell Reinhart said his department’s DUI program is the most aggressive in the county.
Currently, the police do four to eight DUI checkpoints a year, have a specialized DUI patrol team, use their helicopters to catch DUI drivers, and put extra officers on patrol some Friday and Saturday nights. The department has received $1.4 million in grant funding to beef up DUI patrols.
For the past three years, the department has averaged 1,700 DUI arrests a year, the report said.
Still, police say they need more help.
“Even with all we have done there remains a significant DUI problem in Huntington Beach,” the report said. “Our resources were so quickly overwhelmed we believe on any given night a large number of drunk drivers likely leave our downtown area undetected.”
Some locals said that while drinking and driving is a serious offense, they have mixed opinions on the department’s new strategies.
Scott Spigelmire, 34, sat outside Beachfront 301 in downtown on a recent weekday evening drinking a Budweiser and a glass of water. He said posting the names of DUI arrestees was an invasion of privacy and increasing police presence might drive away business.
“There is no reason to drink and drive,” said Spigelmire, of Huntington Beach. “If you are too hammered, pay $50 to $100 bucks to get home in a cab. It could be so much more in the long run (if you drink and drive).”
Changing it up
Police could start posting the names of DUI arrestees this summer.
What do you think of posting the arestees’ names online? Vote in our poll below to the right.
DUI defense attorney Barry Simons said he disagreed with this approach.
“This has been a concept that has been floated around for years,” said Simons, a former dean of the national college for DUI Defense. “Humiliate them, single them out. It is the Scarlet Letter approach and there is absolutely no empirical data that things like that will do anything to affect recidivism.”
“It could have a damaging affect on an individual’s reputation,” he said.
Reinhart said that the arrests are public information and police expect that the public will help monitor DUI drivers. For example, someone can call the police if they see that a neighbor with a suspended license is driving, Reinhart said.
“We get tips on a regular basis and we are hoping to get more of them,” he said.
Councilman Joe Carchio said he supports posting the names, saying it might be a deterrent for people who drink and drive.
“I want to prevent people from drinking and driving but I also want to protect their rights as an individual,” he said. “I have no sympathy for drunk drivers. None whatsoever.”
Councilman Don Hansen said a policy to post the names needs to be further vetted.
“It may be a little far reaching and I’m concerned about those folks that may not be charged or could not even be guilty and if it is posted on the website there could be some … issues,” he said.
The department began sending letters to restaurants in April reporting at least one of their patrons was arrested for driving under the influence. Sharkeez and Hurricanes have received the most letters from the department, Reinhart said.
Sharkeez received four letters with 14 arrested on DUIs, and Hurricanes received three letters with eight people arrested for DUIs, he said.
Hurricanes manager Rich Jardine said the letters have been helpful to his staff. He alerted his servers and bartender to keep a closer eye on patrons.
“It is difficult to tell if they are over the legal limit of. 08,” said Jardine, who has been with Hurricanes for 18 years. “A lot of people can maintain to the naked eye and still be over the legal limit.”
Police will accumulate the DUI data and could place restrictions on the businesses’ licenses and permits, officials say.
Reinhart said the department hopes to add a third officer to their DUI enforcement team as soon as the funds become available.
Officers say they are after more than sober driving. They want life changes.
“We believe they are not only prevent deaths, injuries and traffic collisions; but potentially change people’s lives in a positive way that prevents other negative behaviors,” the report said.
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