Pubdate: Sun, 13 Jan 2008
Source: Maui News, The (HI)
Copyright: 2008 The Maui News
Contact:  http://www.mauinews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2259
Author: Lila Fujimoto, Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Marijuana)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?224 (Marijuana and Driving)

DUI ARRESTS PASS 1,000 IN 2007

WAILUKU - For the first time in a decade, the number of DUI arrests in
Maui County topped 1,000 last year.

Police say the numbers reflect more arrests of people driving under
the influence of drugs, as well as aggressive enforcement by DUI Task
Force and patrol officers.

"It's really unfortunate we still are able to find 1,000 DUIs," said
DUI Task Force officer Nick Krau. "It's definitely not our goal. Our
goal is to be able to go out and not find any."

That was far from the case in 2007. Police made 1,011 impaired-driving
arrests, for a 12 percent increase over the 901 arrests in 2006.

Of the DUI arrests last year, 557 were made by patrol officers in six
districts throughout Maui County.

The largest number was in the Wailuku district, with 201 arrests;
followed by Kihei, with 173 arrests; and Lahaina, with 161 arrests.
There were 13 DUI arrests on Molokai, eight on Lanai and one in Hana.

The rest of the arrests were made by the DUI Task Force of Krau,
officer Mark Hada and Sgt. Stacey Yamashita.

Working shifts that begin at night and continue into the early-morning
hours, the officers patrol roads throughout Maui looking for impaired
drivers.

"Every day, you're going to come across at least one," said Hada, who
has made about 700 DUI arrests over the years.

He has been part of the DUI Task Force for half of his 10-year police
career.

Last year, Hada said, he stopped many drivers who were impaired by
their use of drugs, including prescription medications. Some had
disregarded warnings about side effects of their prescribed medicine,
Hada said.

Some wrongly believed that having medical marijuana permits allowed
them to drive under the influence of the drug, Krau said.

"It's not a prescription to drive a vehicle," he said.

After working for nearly four years on the DUI Task Force, Krau
noticed that he arrested more repeat offenders last year. He arrested
one man for the third time in five years.

While making more than 300 DUI arrests last year, Krau also achieved
his goal of making 1,000 DUI arrests in his career.

"I was thinking that if one out of 1,000 impaired drivers kills
somebody or themselves, then I feel I made a difference," said Krau,
who has made about 1,200 DUI arrests in his seven years as a police
officer.

While he hoped that one life might have been saved through his DUI
arrests, Lt. Bobby Hill said Krau underestimated his work.

"He saved a lot more lives than that," said Hill, who is commander of
the police Traffic Section.

Along with DUI arrests, Hada arrested many drivers for excessive
speeding and racing on highways, Yamashita said. "That's another
aspect of saving lives," he said.

The last time DUI arrests topped 1,000 in Maui County was in 1997,
when there were 1,001 DUI arrests. At the time, the DUI Task Force
included at least four officers and a sergeant.

With Hada, Krau and Yamashita, the DUI Task Force has excelled despite
a shortage of officers, Hill said.

Hada and Krau have completed training to do traffic crash
investigations. But while they respond with other traffic
investigators to the scenes of fatal collisions, the officers have
opted to remain on the DUI Task Force instead of working as traffic
investigators.

"They've got a passion for what they do, and they do it well," Hill
said. "You've got to give them a lot of credit.

"They're very aggressive, and they're very thorough, and they've been
doing a real service for the community."

Hill also credited patrol officers, including some newer officers who
have been trained by traffic officers to make DUI arrests.

"We have a lot of younger officers who have a passion for it," Hill
said. "They have a passion for it to keep our streets safe."

Police plan to continue a program of setting up weekly sobriety
checkpoints this year, Hill said.

Along with more drug-impaired drivers, Hill said officers are finding
more drunken drivers during daytime hours.

"There's definitely a problem," he said. "The more drunken drivers we
can get off the road, hopefully the less fatalities we'll have in 2008."

DUI arrests have risen despite recent measures that have increased
penalties for some offenders.

Under a state law that took effect in July, drivers with alcohol
levels measured at 0.15 percent - nearly twice the legal limit of 0.08
percent - are considered highly intoxicated drivers.

They face stiffer penalties, including a six-month driver's license
suspension and possible jail time.

The new law followed the Maui Police Department's move in 2006 to
increase the bail amount for a DUI arrest to $1,000, making it the
highest in the state.

"Bail is $1,000," said Yamashita, a 23 1/2-year police veteran. "But
saving a life is priceless." 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake