DUI Interstate Partnership
|
MARYLAND,
VIRGINIA, WEST VIRGINIA
|
|
PROJECT CHARACTERISTICS |
PROGRAM AREA(S) |
|
|
Outstanding collaborative effort |
|
Alcohol and Other Drugs |
|
|
|
|
|
|
TYPE OF JURISDICTION |
|
|
|
|
Multi-jurisdictional |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TARGETED POPULATION(S) |
JURISDICTION SIZE |
|
|
General Population |
|
37,000 |
|
PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
Although the total number
of alcohol-related traffic crashes in Maryland, Virginia, and
West Virginia has declined in recent years, injuries and fatalities
resulting from crashes related to impaired driving remains a concern
to law enforcement agencies in the three jurisdictions. These
concerns are particularly acute in a region where the three states
connected by two interstate highways.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The goal of the DUI Interstate Partnership is to reduce injuries
and fatalities resulting from driving under the influence (DUI)
of alcohol and other drugs. Achievement of this goal is aided
by the following objectives:
- Creation of a multi-jurisdictional
partnership among public service and law enforcement agencies
in the states of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia
- Use of existing data to analyze
impaired driving activities in the region where the three states
adjoin
- Development of additional instruments
to collect more uniform data on DUI arrests and activities within
the affected region
STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
The DUI Interstate Partnership, a multi-jurisdictional task force,
was founded in 1995 by the CLEAN FOCUS Coalition—a nonprofit
agency created through the union between Virginia's CLEAN (Community
and Law Enforcement Against Narcotics) program and West Virginia's
FOCUS (Free Our Citizens of Unhealthy Substances) Coalition. The
Partnership consists of public service and law enforcement representatives
in 27 jurisdictions and agencies representing the three states.
These agencies included the State Police of all three jurisdictions;
law enforcement officials from Clarke, Frederick, and Winchester
Counties in Virginia; law enforcement agencies representing Jefferson
and Berkeley Counties and the City of Martinsburg in West Virginia;
and law enforcement representatives from Washington County, Maryland.
All partners employed common strategies of prevention and education
to reduce driving under the influence; however, through the DUI
Interstate Partnership, the participating jurisdictions and agencies
combined and coordinated their efforts in order to strengthen
the effects of their various safety programs. These collaborative
efforts included:
- A Public Speakers Bureau
- Designated driver programs in bars
and restaurants
- Multi-jurisdictional DUI sobriety
checkpoints
- Improved communications for officers
across state lines through the Statewide Interdepartmental Radio
System (SIRS)
- Training restaurant personnel in
safe alcohol service practices through the Training in Intervention
and Prevention for Servers (TIPS) and the Training and Education
for Alcohol Management (TEAM) programs
- Ongoing regional data collection
and analyses
|
RESULTS
The results of the DUI Interstate
Partnership are currently measured by the improved collaboration
and implementation of joint efforts to improve law enforcement
and public safety results in the three states. These improved
partnership efforts can be illustrated by the region's first
multi-jurisdictional sobriety checkpoint conducted in June 1997.
At this demonstration checkpoint, 25.8 percent of all arrests
made in Virginia were from DUIs, and 57.1 percent of arrests
in West Virginia were from DUIs. In addition, the Partnership
has prompted increased and coordinated communication among the
jurisdictions, particularly in the sharing of crime statistics,
regionally. The Partnership looks forward to promoting positive
results in the reduction of injuries and fatalities due to driving
under the influence of alcohol and other drugs. |
|
FUNDING |
|
|
Section 402: |
$900,000 |
|
CONTACT |
|
|
|
Diane C. McCoy
Community Development Specialist
CLEAN FOCUS Coalition
107 W. Washington Street
P.O. Box 397
Charles Town, WV 25414
(304) 725-3433 |
|
|
|
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration |
Spring 1998 |
