Thursday, May 29, 2008

Naperville isn't #1 in DUI arrests anymore

GASP! Naperville cops have slipped to #2. Slackers.

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Naperville slips to 2nd in state DUI arrests
City in top 5 every year since 1990


May 22, 2008Recommend

By BILL BIRD wbird@scn1.com
Inebriated drivers were considerably less likely to be pulled over and arrested last year by Naperville police than they were in 2006.

But it might not be that local police have become lackadaisical where driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics is concerned. Because even though DUI arrests here fell from 808 in 2006 to 683 last year - a decline of nearly 16 percent - that was still good enough to earn Naperville a second-place ranking in an annual survey of more than 700 Illinois police agencies released Wednesday by the Schaumburg-based Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists.

TOP FIVE
Top Five Illinois police agencies making DUI arrests in 2007:

1. Rockford 715

2. Naperville 683

3. Carol Stream 527

4. Buffalo Grove 501

5. Peoria 452

Source: Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists, Schaumburg

Naperville police were edged out by their counterparts in Rockford for the top spot. Rockford police made 715 DUI arrests last year, according to AAIM statistics.

Still, Naperville police have made the top 5 every year since 1990, the first year AAIM began keeping track of DUI arrests. Naperville ranked No. 1 in 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006 and came in second in 2003, with just four fewer DUI arrests than were made by police in Waukegan.

Police departments following Rockford and Naperville in AAIM's 2007 Top 10 included Carol Stream, Buffalo Grove, Peoria, Waukegan, Springfield, Hanover Park, Rolling Meadows and Skokie.

Chicago, because of its overwhelming population and status as the largest city in Illinois, has its own AAIM category.

AAIM considers DuPage and Lake counties to be the strongest in the state in DUI law enforcement. Thirteen DuPage County police agencies made AAIM's 2007 list, as did seven from Lake County.

Naperville police Cmdr. Dave Hoffman said Wednesday he had not seen the AAIM survey results and thus could not comment on them.

Police Chief David Dial said last year that getting drunken drivers off city streets continues to be a priority for his department.

"We have more people killed or injured in traffic accidents than all other crimes combined, and it is a significant safety issue for Naperville, and we will stay on top of it," Dial said last year.


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