Drunken driving: Chat with Ann Arbor, East Lansing police about DUI arrests at noon
Ann Arbor Deputy Police Chief Greg Bazick
Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com
Of particular interest is the disparity between the number of DUI arrests in the state's two Big Ten college towns. East Lansing police arrested 620 drunken-driving suspects in 2011; Ann Arbor arrested 101 such suspects.
Do the departments have different priorities when it comes to DUI enforcement? How do their tactics differ? And why are DUI arrests on the decline overall? MLive's analysis of Michigan State Police records found that statewide, arrests for driving while intoxicated fell to 37,536 in 2011, down nearly 30 percent from 2006.
Ann Arbor Deputy Chief Greg Bazick and East Lansing Police Officer Travis Bove will join us to discuss these issues Wed., Sept. 12 from noon - 1 p.m. in a live chat on this page. Bove arrested 111 drunk driving suspects in 2011 — more than the entire Ann Arbor police force during the same year.
Here are a handful of questions posted by readers that we'll address:
- Do police need "probable cause" to make a traffic stop? Could you pull someone over based on nothing more than the fact that they just left a bar?
- Many people can drive with a BAC of .10 or below without any greater risk of endangering others than a whole host of other legal behaviors. Do people who register a .08 generally seem impaired?
- In the police departments where the drunk driving arrests have gone down, is there anything that suggests that other categories of calls have increased?
- Is this a personnel/manhour thing, or a matter of priorities?
- Are there fewer DUI arrests because of fewer officers that resulted from budget cuts, or are there fewer DUI arrests because people are drinking and driving less because because they can't afford it because of job loss, cost of living increase including higher gas prices, etc.?
What questions do you have on the topic of DUI enforcement in Michigan? Post them in the comments section below, and join us at noon to chat with Bove and Bazick.
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Jen Eyer is the statewide community engagement director for MLive Media Group. Reach her at jeyer@mlive.com; follow on Twitter @jeneyer.
Comments
Jen Eyer
Wed, Sep 12, 2012 : 4:08 p.m.
Thanks for your questions. We are asking them.
LXIX
Wed, Sep 12, 2012 : 3:50 p.m.
That's easy - Lansing is Michigan's Capitol. How about Washington D.C. vs Lansing ? It's called the "smooze lube".
Superior Twp voter
Wed, Sep 12, 2012 : 2:54 p.m.
"MLive's analysis of Michigan State Police records found that statewide, arrests for driving while intoxicated fell to 37,536 in 2011, down nearly 30 percent from 2006." Gosh people, could it just be that this is the answer to all the "whys"? Or is this just too simple of an answer for most to comprehend? On another note, I'd like to know more about E Lansing Officer Travis Bove. Has he lost a loved one to drunk driving? Is he a young hard-charger making a name for himself and lots of overtime $$$$, or is he a veteran closing in on his retirement who is upping his average last xxx year's pay to boost his yearly retirement pension amount? Betcha he pulls in well in excess of $100,000 per year in salary/overtime/court time.
Frustrated in A2
Fri, Sep 14, 2012 : 3:17 a.m.
Or maybe his job is to do OUIL/OUID enforcement. Ann Arbor used to have OUIL officers but they were cut due to budget cuts which cut the number of officers.
ac10award
Wed, Sep 12, 2012 : 3:34 p.m.
Everyone would like to know more about how Officer Bove operates. That information was exactly what was left out of this article in order to paint the picture exactly the way you interpreted it. Seems like an almost intentional omission, no discussion about what he considers to be cause to make a stop, or what percentage of those that he stops are dui. I call it incomplete and irresponsible reporting. You may be right, that he might be abusing the system, or I think he may be saving innocent lives. Until people have had loved ones crippled or killed, the liberal attitude driven freedom to entertain oneself with these addictions seems to be more important than anything.