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College days should be the best time for any student. This is the first time when young adults are responsible for their own actions. College parties are also part of the college experience. However, when returning to college or first time in attending college turns into underage drinking, then the police need to get involved.
According to the Winona Daily News, four agencies, the Winona Police Department, Minnesota State Patrol, Goodview Police Department and Winona County Sheriff’s Department, under the NightCAP Junior Program swept the Winona State University campus and downtown area over the weekend searching for suspects who appeared drunk and were younger than 21.
That weekend the police issued 64 tickets for underage drinking. The most the program netted was more than 100 citations at one house party. Past experience has shown that underage college drinking parties have lead to alcohol deaths. There are no parental controls and your college student doesn’t have the experience to understand that alcohol can kill them. Tell you college student to enjoy their experience and be responsible for their actions.
Statewide and nationwide DWI enforcement
begins on August 21st through September 7th. Approximately 400 Minnesota agencies will participate in this effort included Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS). The aim of the enforcement is taking impaired drivers off the road and encouraging motorists to make safe decisions such as designating a driver or even taking a taxi home.
According to Minnesota statistics, around 100 people are arrested for DWI daily. A first time DWI offense means that your driver’s license will be revoked for a minimum of 90 days. The cost of a DWI can reach up to $20,000 when you consider legal, court and administrative fees.
DPS reports alcohol-related crashes still accounted for more than one-third of all deaths for each year. In the last three years, 2006–2008, 519 motorists were killed and another 1,159 motorists were seriously injured in alcohol-related crashes statewide.
The DWI enforcement effort also focuses on motorcyclists. Rider deaths continue to surge in 2009, out-pacing last year’s 24-year high in fatalities. In 2008, DPS cites drinking and riding as a major factor in rider deaths. Forty-seven percent of the riders killed in crashes tested positive for alcohol.
Enjoy the last holiday of the summer – Labor Day weekend – but remember to be responsible when driving. Don’t drive drunk or impaired.
Recently, Minnesota’s top DWI enforcers were honored during a Twins pre-game. What makes this an important honor is how these 31 law enforcement representatives are working hard to ensure safe roads for all motorists by arresting and prosecuting impaired drivers in Minnesota.
Minnesota State Patrol Trooper, Kyle Klawiter, was named the state’s Most Valuable Enforcer. He had 184 DWI arrest in 2008. Each year, alcohol-related crashes account for more than one-third of Minnesota’s total traffic deaths. This accounts for approximately 200 deaths annually. In addition, these crashes also seriously injure 400 motorists each year. According to reports, there are more than 35,000 motorists arrested for DWI and approximately 80 percent of drinking drivers killed in crashes are not buckled up.
The summer driving season is an important time for law enforcement. This is the time of year when impaired driving activity and alcohol-related fatalities spike. Reports indicate that during July, August and September in 2006–2008, alcohol-related crashes accounted for 164 deaths. This represents 32 percent of all alcohol-related deaths for the three-year period.
As a result, there will be a summer-long enhanced DWI enforcement through Operation NightCAP (nighttime concentrated alcohol patrol). Law enforcement will continue in the state’s 13 deadliest counties for impaired driving. Operation NightCAP is extra overtime patrols that are over and beyond regular DWI enforcement activity.
Remember, law enforcement can’t stop impaired driving. Everyone needs to take action to prevent friends from drinking and driving. Use safe alternatives like a cab or a designated driver and never get behind the wheel after drinking.
According to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI), major crimes across Colorado have dropped 6.1 percent from 2007 to 2008. This is the third straight annual decline in crime in Colorado. Major crimes that were reported in this study include homicides, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, assault, burglary, larceny and auto theft.
In addition, during this period, CBI has reported that auto thefts have dropped 22.1 percent. This decrease in auto theft seems to be part of a nationwide trend and is attributed to the difficulty in stealing newer cars because of better theft protection.
Another reason for a drop in crime rates is due to police being able to collect DNA during their investigations of all crimes. This includes burglaries and auto thefts. Trace DNA is collected and checked against state and federal databases. Because of this added resource, police can solve crimes faster and keep repeated offenders off the streets.
However, criminologists caution that crimes with economic motive such as burglary, theft, robbery and auto theft, could increase with a deepening recession.
Just like other states, Minnesota has new laws in effect as of July 1st.
One of these laws are very important especially if you have small children. Starting on July 1st, children younger than 8 years old or less than 4-feet-9-inches tall will have to travel in booster seats. Booster seats are inexpensive and vital to protect your youngster while riding in your car. You can use your car’s seat belt to buckle in the booster seat. If your child is younger than one, don’t forget to use a child car seat that is rear-facing. After age one, you can have the car seat front-face. Fines for violating the booster seal law are waived if the vehicle owner can prove a safety seat was purchased within two weeks of being stopped.
In addition, starting today, police can stop you if you aren’t buckled up. Previously, the police had to stop you on another traffic offense first. This is also a very important law that has proven to save lives.
For Minnesota boaters, a new “move-over” law also is in effect today. This new law requires boaters to stay clear of law enforcement watercraft that have emergency lights flashing. This law provides the same protection for officers on the water that is similar to laws for police and other emergency personnel on Minnesota roads. Under the new law, watercraft operators must move safely away from law enforcement boats and maintain a slow, no-wake speed within 150 feet of the law enforcement watercraft.
Finally, an important law, named for Brandon Swanson, a 19-year-old who disappeared last May after running his car off the road in rural western Minnesota, takes effect. This law requires police and sheriffs to start searching right away when adults disappear under suspicious circumstances. Previously, the police would wait 24 or 48 hours to begin their investigation. Currently, according to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Minnesota has 31 missing or abducted persons and 15 runaways.
It seems that these new laws will help protect our kids as well as drivers and passengers. It will help save lives and really doesn’t impose a hardship to anyone.
This year’s Memorial Weekend was deadly for motorists in Minnesota. Preliminary reports cited twelve traffics deaths. This was the next deadliest Memorial weekend since 1996.
State Patrol responded to 10 of the deaths and seven serious injuries. The deaths include seven motorists, two motorcyclists and a pedestrian. Sadly, of the seven motorist deaths, two were not wearing their seat belt. In addition, State Patrol investigators said seat belt use in a quadruple fatal in Olmsted County might not be known because of the extensive damage to the van that was hit by a suspected impaired driver.
The folks of Minnesota need to understand the ongoing threats on their roads. There are impaired drivers, speeders and those people not paying attention while driving. Summer is the deadliest time on the roads and Memorial Weekend starts the summer time driving.
Cheri Marti, DPS director of the Office of Traffic Safety underscores the relevance of the new primary seat belt law. The primary offense means drivers and passengers in all seating positions must be buckled up or in the correct child restraint. Effective June 9, law enforcement can stop motorists for seat belt violations. Minnesota is the 29th state to pass a primary seat belt law following the recent passage by both Arkansas and Florida.
Wearing a seat belt is best defense behind the wheel especially against motorists who are impaired, speeding or driving distracted. Buckle up and don’t drive drink this summer!
According to the 2008 FBI data crime statistics for cities in the U.S. shows that crime fell in large cities but grew in small towns. As you may remember, last year the country faced a housing bubble burst, banks going under, lending frozen and car companies looking for a bailout.
With the bad economy starting in 2008 and continuing into 2009, experts were concerned that crime may increase throughout the U.S. However, according to the 2008 statistics, violent crime nationwide dropped by 2.5 percent. Property crimes also fell by 1.6 percent.
However, cities with more than 1 million people saw murders fall by 4.3 percent as well as cities with 500,000 to 1 million people saw murders fall by nearly 8 percent. However, small towns with fewer than 10,000 residents saw murders rise 5.5 percent and rape increased by 1.4 percent as well as robbery at 3.9 percent. There was no reason given for this increase in crime in small towns.
The FBI crime statistics also broke down crime according to regions throughout the U.S. The northeast region saw a rise in property crimes by 1.6 percent but the remaining regions saw a decrease between 1.7 and 4.2 percent in both violent crime and property crime.
Even though the downturn in the economy has hurt most of us, at least we experienced less crime that made us feel safer in our lives.
CopLink network is a new electronic database that helps street cops and investigators analyze information from other jurisdictions in order to help crack a case. This new system, currently being used in Colorado, takes bits of information such as nicknames, scars, tattoos or piercing and uses a search engine that provides names of suspects within about 10 minutes.
42 state law enforcement agencies throughout Colorado have joined the Colorado Information Sharing Consortium. This consortium gives them access to the database. In order for the database to work, all agencies must agree to share its criminal records online with other members.
The database, which initially cost $2 million for an enterprise license, is expensive. Some of the money came from federal grants. However, each participating agency must pay an annual maintenance fee to be part of the consortium database. One problem is that smaller counties throughout the state may find it difficult to pay for the annual fee.
Even though CopLink network is expensive, this database offers law enforcement agencies another tool in catching the bad guys.
The Colorado State Patrol Chief, Col. James Wolfinbarger, has joined the ranks of social media twittering to help troopers reach out to the public. His intention is to spread a message quickly and to help people understand the efforts of the Colorado State Patrol.
For example, just recently Col. Wolfinbarger twittered about a trooper chasing a speeding suspect down Interstate 25 in El Paso County. Unfortunately, the chase ended in a crash for the suspect. His twitter told people about the interstate being closed and the next twitter was the reopening of the interstate.
This young forty-something Chief, is a big proponent for communicating to the public. All of his Troopers have laptop computers in their cars. This helps him to post updates on Twitter to alert the public of accident scenes or even what the State Patrol may be doing on a specific day. He may even alert the public about speed traps in an area and warns everyone to slow down.
In this instant communications era this is a wonderful way to keep in touch with the public and the public to keep in touch with State Patrol You can visit his twitter site to sign up for alerts or just tweet with the Chief of the Colorado State Patrol.
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