The suburban town of Naperville finished first in Chicago-area DUI arrests in 2009, according to the recently released results of a survey by the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists (AAIM). Rockford came in first statewide, with 743 arrests, while Naperville police recorded 581 DUI arrests last year.
And while Illinois State Police made 3 percent more arrests in 2009 than 2008, DUI arrests by the Chicago Police Dept. actually declined by nearly 18 percent. Although Chicago DUI attorneys could probably provide more contexts, it's not clear whether fewer Chicagoans are driving drunk or if the city has fewer resources to enforce DUI laws.
Still, AAIM executive director Charlene Chapman said data shows that Cook County has the strongest DUI enforcement in the state:
"More DUI arrests in Cook and DuPage counties don't necessarily mean there are more drunk drivers in those regions than in the rest of the state. It does indicate a more active enforcement effort targeting DUI by those departments compared to other departments."
And since different municipalities have different populations, raw numbers are probably less telling than per-capita figures.
However, the police department with the highest DUI arrest rate as measured by arrests per officer was in River Grove; that department recorded 8.83 arrests per sworn officer.
A Chicago Tribune article broke down and analyzed the data, explaining that men ages 21 to 24 had a DUI arrest rate more than four times the average for all other demographic groups. Evanston saw the largest spike in arrests last year, at 75 percent, credited to increased monitoring of bars after closing time.
Naperville's low crime rate and clogged roadways puts DUI enforcement as a higher priority, according to Cmdr. John Gustin:
"Our training and our focus is on intoxicated motorists. I think we detect DUIs that possibly other agencies do not."
Related Resources:
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Supreme Court Allows Ban on DUI Stops Based on Tips (FindLaw's Blotter Blog)
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Consult with a Chicago DUI Lawyer (FindLaw)
