MADD could reach out to Police Chiefs’ and Sheriffs’ Associations and ask three questions: 1) How can we be a voice for something you cannot say?, 2) How can we be a voice for something you want emphasized?, and 3) How can we be a voice for something that needs to be said? Law enforcement leadership at the Summit called on each other to make tough decisions in order to enhance traffic enforcement. For example, direct duties to fit skill levels. Typically younger officers work nights but have the least training in impaired driving arrests and courtrooms, and this may necessitate an unpopular but necessary change. Younger officers may even need courtroom training to embolden them to follow through with impaired driving arrests. Law enforcement leadership must find ways to motivate their officers to enforce traffic safety laws. See the recommendation on motivation for strategies discussed. 2. Funding: Some agencies provided creative examples of how they obtained more funding for traffic enforcement when they were given none. But most agencies ran up against the barrier of funding in at least one area. First, there is a need for more crime labs to reduce the backlog of testing for blood alcohol and drug use. One major reason that drug impaired driving is so difficult to prove in court is that the labs are severely behind in testing blood for drugs. More funding for these labs could help expedite these cases. In the Pacific Northwest, they are looking into regionalizing toxicology to help with the response times, but this requires additional funding. As well, more funding could be utilized for possibly new criminalists for crime labs to address the backlog. DUI task force grants are helpful, but flexibility is needed to allow agencies to backfill for training. Additional recommendations included paying those who participate in a checkpoint and not locking people in to 6pm to 6am. Smaller agencies need flexibility the most. Also within that funding, discourage any measure that would make it difficult to execute checkpoints, such as having a certain number of impaired driving arrests per shift. More officers are needed nearly everywhere and additional funding to hire these officers is critical. Some Chiefs have the money to send officers to training but not enough to back fund their position. It was recommended to seek state funding to pay officers overtime in order to backfill for training. DRE training creates a manpower issue on a department during training; it was recommended that agencies request state funding through the State agency to cover the back flow.
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