HENNEPIN COUNTY EMBRACES TOOLS TO PREVENT DWIS Posted on Wed, Nov. 22, 2006
BY SHANNON PRATHER
Pioneer Press - www.twincities.com Think getting a DWI is embarrassing? Imagine an ignition lock on your car that lets you drive only if you blow into a breath-test device. Or how about an ankle bracelet that measures your blood-alcohol level so your probation officer can make sure you're not back on the bottle. These are the latest gadgets Hennepin County judges say they'll use to crack down on repeat drunken drivers. It's part of a greater effort by the state's largest district court to protect the public while providing more rehabilitation and services to those battling addiction. Hennepin County Chief Judge Lucy Wieland announced the new initiatives Tuesday, including uniform penalties, technological tools and the creation of a special DWI court to better monitor offenders. "Our goal is simple," Wieland said. "We want to increase safety by keeping drunken drivers off the road." Despite all the public education surrounding drunken driving, Wieland said, judges haven't seen a drop in the number of cases filed. Judges across the Twin Cities have come under fire in recent months for what some prosecutors have called lenient sentences for repeat drunken drivers. Wieland and probation officials hope their new efforts finally make a dent in the numbers. In 2005, prosecutors filed 7,500 drunken driving cases in Hennepin County. That number has remained steady for the past six years. Eleven percent of Minnesota's 3.7 million licensed drivers have at least one DWI conviction, according to a 2005 Minnesota Department of Corrections report. Ramsey County District Court started a DWI court for repeat offenders in 2005, and officials say the program is working. Ramsey County uses the alcohol-measuring bracelets but hasn't embraced the ignition devices. While numerous other states have adopted this type of technology, St. Louis Park lawyer Ed Cohen said this would be the first widespread use of an ignition lock in Minnesota. Cohen and a partner, who own the franchise in Minnesota for the Smart Start devices, are working with Hennepin County. The device attaches to a drunken driver's ignition. The driver turns the key and then is required to give a breath to start the car. If the breath sample registers a significant amount of alcohol, the car will not start. A camera also snaps a photo of the driver to prevent cheating. Six minutes after the car has started, the driver must again provide a breath sample and another photo is taken. After that, the device will randomly require drivers to provide breath tests, photographing each test. The device won't stop a moving car if the driver registers above the limit during one of the random tests, but it records all the data. Probation officers can download the data every month to ensure offenders are complying. Offenders rent the device at a cost of about $4 a day. "You are talking about people who are not real good about making a choice about drinking and driving — this helps them make that choice," Cohen said. "It prevents them from drinking and driving." Shannon Prather can be reached at sprather@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5452. |
