Impaired Driving Subcommittee Impaired Driving Guidebook - NHTSA

CRIMINAL JUSTICE COLLABORATION⎯ Work with them on defined problems andfind information-driven solutions to theproblems.⎯ Develop a strategy that focuses onoutreach to minority youth to reduceunderage drinking.• Increases trust and communicationbetween law enforcement and youth).⎯ As much as possible, law enforcementshould work with non-profits, businesses,churches, and other organizations toprovide public safety education andpresentations to members of the community.• Builds better community relationships.• Encourages positive traffic safetybehavior.⎯ Use statistics more effectively to buildrelationships.• Develops and provides accurate, timelyinformation about criminal trafficbehavior and collision trends to officers,allowing them to act on data, not race.• Communicates to the community thatpolice profile behavior, not race.⎯ Work with local minority organizations forrecruitment of officers from the minoritycommunities.• Law enforcement must focus onrecruiting officers who reflect thediversity of the communities they serve.Lasting partnerships and collaborations are aproven method for sharing resources, acquiringneeded assistance, and streamlining processes andimportant mechanisms for generating new ideasand innovative ways to use resources moreefficiently.HURDLES TO REFORMAmerica will have the DUI problem it chooses tohave. We know how to solve the problem, but facenumerous obstacles. There has been a lack ofunified leadership and resolve. Public and privatepartnerships can resolve this deficiency. IACP,MADD, and NHTSA can and will fill the leadershipvoid by engaging other stakeholders and workingtogether to overcome the hurdles we face.Some of the challenges we must overcomeinclude: Years of insufficient resources. Differing leadership priorities by jurisdiction. Differing needs of urban and rural jurisdictions. Poorly written, loophole-ridden, or unenforceablelaws. A judiciary that struggles to define itself andmaintain its objectivity in the face of aggressivedefense attorneys. An organized DUI defense bar more concernedwith “winning a case” than with the carnage onour streets and highways. Appellate court decisions that hinder impaireddriving enforcement.Each state and jurisdiction needs to activelyidentify what their hurdles to success are, developthe necessary plans to address them, establish thepartnerships necessary to overcome them,implement the plans, regularly examine the results(and revise the process as required), and repeat theprocess.Summing it up… Law enforcement agencies shouldshare best practices and resources witheach other to promote consistencyand to enhance working relationships. Inter-disciplinary partnerships can breaktraditional boundaries, provide broadbasedsupport, amplify availableresources, and establish sharedownership. Examples of inter-disciplinary partnershipsinclude collaboration betweenlaw enforcement and prosecutors,community organizations, and businessleaders. Toxicologists should collaborate bysharing knowledge, addressing complicatedissues, and further developingexpertise. System-wide collaborations can createother opportunities, such as StrategicHighway Safety Planning efforts.15