Chief Tom Clemons, Seward Police Department, Alaska, representing the State Association of Chiefs of Police (SACOP), emphasized the importance of this association and its mid‐year and annual meeting. Sheriffs Panel Sheriff John Whetsel (retired), NSA Traffic Safety Committee Chair, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, talked about what any law enforcement agency can do to enforce traffic laws and save lives as a matter of life and death. He began a traffic safety unit and program that began with high‐visibility traffic enforcement and seat belt enforcement as well as many other operations, programs and campaigns. He emphasized that traffic safety requires leadership with a commitment to save lives and must involve the entire agency. Over 20 years, he saw the traffic crash rate decrease by 91% and crime rate by 92%; the only difference is they created a traffic safety unit. The theme continues: Traffic enforcement equals crime enforcement and reduction. Sheriff James Voutour, Niagara County Sheriff’s Office, New York, and Vice Chair National Sheriffs Association (NSA) Traffic Safety Committee shared a personal encounter early in his career, which resolved his commitment to traffic safety and impaired driving reduction. One of the challenges he noted in New York are the unpaid DUI fines, in millions across the state, which go uncollected, resulting in decreased money to fight drunk driving. Sheriff Paul Milbrath, Jefferson County, Wisconsin, talked about the challenges in Wisconsin where there is a rich history of alcohol, inextricably tied to every industry. Checkpoints are illegal and OWI stops are ticketed. After successfully lowering fatalities significantly by high‐visibility enforcement, they struggled to get traffic grants. Therefore, they had to enact creative strategies to overcome lack of funding, inability to do checkpoints, and the alcohol‐rich environment, such as “OWI Enforcement Zone” signage (without a checkpoint), utilizing social media, and working with unlikely partners, such as the Tavern League to enact Project Safe Ride through a state grant. Colonels Panel Colonel Gene Spaulding, Florida Highway Patrol, discussed critical steps taken by Florida Highway Patrol to enhance enforcement, including increasing DREs from 9 to 48 with the goal of 300 in the next 2 years; community outreach; impaired driving education, social media, and PSAs; troopers participating with the community in Walk Like MADD; and the Arrive Alive Campaign. Lt. Colonel Wayde Webb, Arizona Department of Public Safety, presented six priorities that should guide troopers in their daily mission and how trooper accountability through the 28‐day Captain’s report has helped increase measures across the board since established three and a half years ago. Colonel Mike Rapich, Utah Highway Patrol and Deputy Commissioner of DPS confirmed that the inverse trend discussed in the Summit is consistent in Utah‐‐DUI arrests are going down and fatalities and crashes are going up. Manpower shortages, opioid crises, wildfire crises, and stakeholders looking at resources to augment other issues may be partly to blame. In Utah, Colonel Rapich had to deploy 50 troopers to the homeless district and maintain a presence there, further pulling resources away from traffic safety. He addressed another common issue in which it is not uncommon for an officer to spend two to three hours on a DUI arrest, where he has identified how to utilize other resources (video, data collection, reports) to get the officers back out on the road. Every officer is required to complete ARIDE training in the first two years. Some successful efforts and collaborations include high‐visibility
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