Wide variation found in drunk driving arrest rates

EAST LANSING (AP) -- There are wide variations in the rates of drunken driving arrests among Michigan police agencies, with the hometowns of Michigan State University and the University of Michigan showing one of the sharpest contrasts, a news organization has found. Mlive.com recently reported that it examined drunken driving arrest rates across Michigan for last year. Police in East Lansing made 620 such arrests, the investigation found. It said the 54 fulltime officers on the police department in the hometown of Michigan State University averaged 11.5 arrests each last year. Ann Arbor police made 101 drunken driving arrests in 2011, according to the report. It said the University of Michigan's hometown had 117 fulltime police officers, and they averaged 0.9 drunken driving arrests in 2011. Ann Arbor police Deputy Chief Gregory Bazick said he couldn't explain the differences. "One of the things to caution against is using crime statistics as a comparison of the effectiveness of a police department from jurisdiction to jurisdiction," he said. Bazick said some agencies emphasize beat patrols and other deployment models, and some communities have more public transit. Asked about the arrest rates for East Lansing, he said: "Does it surprise me? That's wonderful for them. That's fantastic." Drunken driving enforcement has been a priority for East Lansing police for years, said Capt. Jeff Murphy, a 25-year veteran of the department. Chief Juli Liebler made drunken driving an even greater priority when she became acting chief in 2010, Murphy said. "Our midnight shift consists of 15 officers and that's quite a bit smaller than other departments," Murphy said. "Obviously, those officers work very, very hard." Big city departments facing higher crime rates often have lower arrest rates than neighboring suburbs. For example, Flint's 112 fulltime police officers made 77 drunken driving arrests for the year, an average of 0.7 arrests per officer. In Genesee County's suburban Grand Blanc Township, the 44 fulltime officers made 331 arrests, or 8.3 per officer. Published: Wed, Sep 12, 2012