Crime & Safety
Montgomery 65th in State in DUI Arrests
Naperville — the fifth-largest city in Illinois — ranked at No. 2, with 576 DUI arrests last year, and was second only to Rockford.
With 103 arrests for impaired driving in 2012 the Montgomery Police Department ranked at No. 65 among the state's 154 municipal police departments, excluding Chicago, according to the results of an Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists survey released last week.
Naperville — the fifth-largest city in Illinois — ranked at No. 2, with 576 DUI arrests last year, and was second only to Rockford.
With 23 sworn officers, Montgomery's 2012 arrest rate was 4.48 per officer.
Find out what's happening in Montgomerywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“Departments that make more DUI arrests do not necessarily pinpoint more drunk drivers in Illinois communities,” said Rita Kreslin, Executive Director of AAIM, in a press release. “[However,] it does indicate additional active enforcement in municipalities and counties, which aides in targeting DUI offenders.”
Itasca had the largest number of DUI arrests per sworn officer, with 11.48 arrests per cop.
Here's how Montgomery and other surrounding towns compare:
- Plainfield - Rank: 54; DUI arrests: 122; arrests per officer: 2.39
- Montgomery – Rank: 65; DUI arrests; 103; arrests per officer: 4.48
- Oswego – Rank 82; DUI Arrests: 77; arrests per officer: 1.57
- Yorkville – Rank 118; DUI Arrests: 36; arrests per officer: 1.16
- Sandwich – Rank: 133; DUI Arrests: 21; arrests per officer: 1.5
Founded in 1982 and dedicated to keeping drunk and drug-impaired drivers off the road, AAIM releases an annual report on statewide drunken driving arrests.
“One reason AAIM continues to survey and report the number of impaired driving arrests throughout Illinois because traffic safety advocates believe that drunk drivers who are arrested are the fortunate ones," AAIM Board Vice President and crash survivor, Marti Belluschi said in the release.
"In our impaired driving prevention programs, we always remind people that if they are driving drunk they are lucky if it is a cop that stops them, rather than a tree, another car or a small child."
Read the full story at the AAIM website.
Find out what's happening in Montgomerywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.