BY MIKE CETERA
Each year, without fail, the Schaumburg-based Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists comes out with a list ranking DUI arrests in Northern Illinois communities. Each year, without fail, Aurora falls at or near the bottom of towns with 200 or more arrests.
In 2007, Aurora police made 223 DUI arrests, 39th among the towns surveyed. In 2006, the APD made 246 arrests, placing the department dead last in terms of the number of DUIs per sworn officer. Read more on how Aurora compared in prior years here.
In previous years, when these annual numbers have been released, the APD has maintained its officers are vigilant about drunken drivers. I'm guessing -- and this is only a guess -- the department has bigger fish to fry (read: gangs), which is why Aurora's neighbor to the east consistently makes hundreds more DUI arrests each year.
I imagine officers never fail to pull over an obviously intoxicated driver. But like most organizations, there must be priorities based on available resources. When Rockford makes 715 DUI arrests and Naperville makes 683, it seems clear the leadership in those departments have made DUI enforcement more of a priority.
I don't see these choices departments must confront as either right or wrong. But I'm wondering if residents would like to see more emphasis placed on DUIs, knowing, of course, that less emphasis would probably have to be placed on something else.
DUI is a problem - no doubt about that. Offenders should be found and prosecuted. However, Aurora has some very real and significant problems in other areas - gang related violence, drugs, prostitution and other serious crimes. These are areas where the police need to focus
I hope this isn't a complaint suggesting that Aurora's DUI arrest rate should be higher. (We might start calling you Cynic Cetera-lol)
I would expect Naperville to have a considerable amount of DUI arrests, their downtown is saturated with drunken college students at times. I think we need to look at statistics with an open mind, and not misinterpret everything we see.
And I think your guess that they are focusing on gangs is way off. You don't sacrifice one over the other, you address the crimes as they occur. Certainly, if the officers are encouraged to focus on DUIs they would find more cases, but I don't think they should be encouraged to change for the sake of ranking higher in the AAIM ranks. Perhaps it would be worthy to look at the DUI accidents and deaths in each city. Is Aurora's rate higher, lower, or equivalent to Rockfords? Napervilles? That should determine relevance.
Let's go after the hard-core, dangerous scourge of society: the seat-belt vioaltor. Let's set up roadblocks and CRACKDOWN on these criminals.
Since most of the bars and restaurants in Aurora tend to be towards the perimeters of the the city, is it possible that the people who are drinking and driving are getting arrested in Naperville, Batavia, Sugar Grove, Montgomery and Oswego? I would think so.
I would hope that the Aurora police are pulling over drivers that are obviously intoxicated, driving erratically, swerving, etc. My guess is that they are.
But keep in mind Naperville police will often pull someone over for another violation such as a light out on the license plate or taillight and in the process issue a DUI. I believe if a person is drinking and driving they should pay the consequences. But often it is not suspicion of DUI that the Naperville police initially pull them over for.
And @6 is correct, Naperville has a ton of drunken college students and adults downtown on the weekends. Chances are many of the college students are walking back to campus, some are taking cabs, but there are quite a few adults who patronize the bars in town that are getting in cars. The Naperville police have their hands full with them.
Naperville police will pull you over for pulling out of a bar's parking lot anytime of the day....this is one of the reasons why I avoid going out in communist Naperville and live in Aurora...
For the record..I do not drive drunk. In my younger days I would go out to bars in Naperville with my friends. I was pulled over leaving bars six or seven times with no consequence, but now I avoid that area like the plague...