PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
During 1998, a total of 273 people were fatally injured in alcohol-related traffic crashes in Minnesota. To help combat the high incidence of impaired driving throughout the state, the Minnesota Office of Traffic Safety coordinates a variety of efforts under the umbrella of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) Campaign Safe & Sober. One such initiative is Operation NightCAP (Nighttime Concentrated Alcohol Patrol), a program of saturation patrols conducted by law enforcement agencies in place of sobriety checkpoints, which are prohibited in Minnesota.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
To facilitate impaired driving arrests during Operation NightCAP (Nighttime Concentrated Alcohol Patrol) enforcement events statewide, the Minnesota State Patrol (MSP) purchased a Breath Alcohol Testing Mobile (BATmobile) in 1999. Primary objectives were to:

• Reduce law enforcement travel time associated with impaired driving arrests in the less populated areas of the state
• Allow for centralized processing of impaired driving offenders, so that arresting officers can return more quickly to patrol duties
• Provide an area for prisoner booking, as well as the simultaneous transport of several suspects to jail
• Increase media and public awareness of the NightCAP initiative

STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
Operation NightCAP, developed by the Minnesota Office of Traffic Safety, consists of twice monthly saturation patrols conducted by multi-jurisdictional law enforcement agencies in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. MSP districts in greater Minnesota schedule their patrols to coincide with community events that have previously experienced impaired driving problems.

To assist law enforcement officers in handling impaired driving arrests, the MSP purchased a 36-foot-long custom designed BATmobile, containing facilities for processing impaired drivers. Although BATmobiles have traditionally been used in support of impaired driving checkpoints, MSP officers transferred the utility of the BATmobile to support Operation NightCAP saturation patrols. Prior experience demonstrated that, when a significant number of officers worked a saturation patrol, it placed a strain on the capabilities of local Driving While Impaired (DWI) processing facilities. This was especially true in rural areas, where some community events were attended by more than 100,000 people. The resulting arrest backup at local police stations and county jails increased the downtime for arresting officers, and impeded routine law enforcement operations at these facilities.

The Operation NightCAP BATmobile is deployed at a strategic location for each event, often adjacent to a local law enforcement agency command post. This strategic placement of the BATmobile acts as a deterrent to impaired driving, by alerting motorists that a saturation patrol is operating in the vicinity. The vehicle also serves as a backdrop for press conferences conducted to inform the media and the public of the saturation patrols. A large public information sign on the back of the unit also functions as a rolling DWI prevention billboard, as the vehicle is being driven to and from the event.

Impaired driving offenders are brought to a central location, where they are turned over to processing officers/deputies assigned to the BATmobile. Offenders are then booked at the BATmobile, and transported in groups to a detention facility. A retired state patrol commander serves as a Law Enforcement Liaison (LEL) to coordinate, manage and drive the BATmobile.

RESULTS
During its first year of operation, the NightCAP BATmobile processed 255 DWI suspects, predominately in rural areas of Minnesota. The vehicle was an important addition to the saturation patrol efforts, allowing centralized processing and booking at the unit, so that enforcement officers were able to return quickly to patrol, and complete additional impaired driving arrests during the shift.

The LEL effectively coordinated the use of the BATmobile, allowing it to be utilized state-wide on a regular basis.

FALL 2000