Staff Report

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.–The most significant deterrents to impaired driving are law enforcement and DUI arrests. The Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists (AAIM) is pleased to release the results of its 21st Annual DUI Arrest Survey.

Since 1990, AAIM has conducted an annual survey of Illinois police departments to determine how many DUI arrests they make and to give recognition to the most productive departments and police officers. Through a grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation, nearly 700 police agencies were surveyed with 74 percent responding. AAIM not only praises these departments and individual officers, but the group also encourages them to keep up the fight against drunk driving.

For the fourth consecutive year, the Rockford Police Department is first in the state in DUI arrests among municipal departments with 727 arrests for 2010. (Because of its size, Chicago is in its own category.)

In 2010, Naperville was second with 671 arrests, followed by Decatur (496), Springfield (472), Elgin (410), Waukegan (390), Carol Stream (361), Rock Island (337), Elmhurst (318) and Aurora (296). “More DUI arrests in a municipality or county do not necessarily mean there are more drunk drivers in these locations than in the rest of the state,” said Charlene Chapman, executive director of AAIM. “It does indicate a more active enforcement effort targeting DUI by those departments compared to other departments.”

The biggest increase in arrests among the top departments was in East Peoria, where DUI arrests jumped by 131.0 percent in 2010 compared to 2009. According to Chief Ed Papis, “Our police department is proud to have made a notable contribution to saving lives on our roadways. Whether they live here or are driving through town, we want everyone to know that in East Peoria, we do arrest drunk drivers.” Other municipalities with large increases from 2009 to 2010 are Chicago Heights (81.1 percent), Fox Lake (69.0 percent), Pekin (29.9 percent) and Springfield (19.2 percent).

The highest DUI arrest rate in the state among departments making at least 200 arrests was Fox Lake, which had 9.26 arrests per sworn officer. The second-highest rate of 6.77 was in East Peoria. Arrests per officer are an indicator of a department’s emphasis on DUI enforcement and are a measure that can be used to compare smaller departments.

Chicago police made 14.9 percent fewer arrests in 2010 (3,695) than in 2009 (4,341), while Illinois State Police arrests increased by 7.4 percent in 2010 (10,734) compared to 2009 (9,996). The sheriff’s department reporting the most DUI arrests was Cook County (515), while Lake (393), DeKalb (327), Will (267) and St. Clair (253) counties round out the top five sheriff’s departments.

Illinois State Police Trooper Daniel S. Erickson was Illinois’ Top Cop with 206 DUI arrests. AAIM also commends the life-saving efforts of Chicago Police Officer Timothy Walter, who arrested 180 drunk drivers. “When police chiefs make it a priority to get impaired drivers off the roads, lots of arrests are made. There are several individual officers making more DUI arrests per year than many entire police departments in Illinois. These officers deserve recognition and thanks for their diligence in promoting public safety,” said Chapman.

In a familiar pattern, the regions of the state with the strongest DUI enforcement are Cook County, which accounts for eight of the state’s top departments, and DuPage County, which accounts for six departments.

“AAIM is always particularly pleased to announce the increases in impaired driving arrests. Traffic safety advocates believe that drunk drivers who are arrested are the fortunate ones. In our impaired driving prevention programs, we always remind people that if they are driving drunk, they are lucky if it is a cop that stops them, rather than a tree, another car, or a small child,” according to AAIM Board Vice-President and crush survivor, Marti Belluschi.

AAIM is an Illinois-only citizen activist group founded in 1982 by victims of drunk driving. Prevention, victim advocacy, and legislation encompass the mission of AAIM, as an Illinois expert on these issues. The survey provides a valuable service by encouraging citizens to compare the DUI enforcement record of their local police department with that of other communities. As a result, public pressure can be applied, where needed, to encourage DUI enforcement as a priority.

A detailed listing of survey results and participating departments is available at: www.aaim1.org ^[1]

From the June 29-July 5, 2011 issue