Saturday, February 4, 2012

Milwaukee Police Crack Down On OWI In The Southside Resulted In 51 Stops

Milwaukee police come short of setting up OWI checkpoints like Waukegan police.

By H. Nelson Goodson
February 4, 2012

Milwaukee - On Friday, a Milwaukee police OWI deployment special unit began another operation to spot, stop, cite and arrest suspected drivers operating while intoxicated. The officers involved in the operation look for signs to enagage in a stop like someone driving without lights, weaving on the street, driving to slow, having bright lights or a burn out light and etc. Police come short of setting up OWI checkpoints in the predominately Hispanic community where most likely a large of concentration of undocumented drivers can be found cruising in the area.
Milwaukee police action compared to the neighboring state of Illinois where police in the City of Waukegan routinely setup checkpoints for OWI, usually have a large arrest quota for undocumented drivers without valid documents.
The southside of Milwaukee had a large concentration of OWI accidents last year, including undocumented OWI drivers involved in accidents causing deaths. But, the southside is being trageted to improve safe and sober driving conditions, especially during the weekends. 
Other areas where large concentration of OWI drivers flourish are in Milwaukee's downtown nightclub scenes during closing hours, Miller Park, after games and area Summer festivals as well. OWI is an epidemic in Milwaukee, especially when drivers consuming alcohol or substance abuse, decide to get on their vehicles and drive home or other destinations raising the percentage point of getting into an probable accident.
On Friday and early hours of Saturday, the Milwaukee police OWI deployment unit had a productive operation. The Milwaukee Police Department Facebook page reported the following statistics on Saturday, "NTF motorcycle officers on OWI deployment last night make 5 arrests of repeat drunken drivers; 18 arrests for operating after revocation/suspension. Total of 51 traffic stops. 1 felony arrest for driver of a stolen car. We also know that other crime goes down when officers are in the deployment areas, like fewer shots fired in those neighborhoods."
More visible deployment operations by the police department could become a major factor to reducing OWI driving in the southside during the weekends, which could very well save lives.
The southside 12th Aldermanic District and adjacent 4th, 8th and 14th  districts have more alcohol and beer selling establishments per block than any other aldermanic districts in the City of Milwaukee.

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