Dan Rodgers, of the City of Fairfax Police Department, knows how to handle drunken drivers.
"They've broken the law, but you don't want to demoralize them," he said. "You want to teach them a lesson."
It is important, he said, to treat drunken drivers "like humans" and to "let them know that there is life after this."
Rodgers, who made 22 arrests last year for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI), is used to the smells and the belligerent behavior that sometimes accompany an arrest. "They'll call you every name in the book," he said.
The only way to handle such situations, according to Rodgers, is to use "more professionalism."
RODGERS WAS ONE of 54 police officers and state troopers from around Northern Virginia who were recognized for their commitment to preventing drunken driving at a May 31 ceremony organized by the Northern Virginia chapters of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program. Another City of Fairfax officer, Lt. William Kitzerow, was also recognized but was unable to attend the ceremony.
Col. Gerald Massengill, superintendent of the Virginia State Police, told the officers in his keynote address that drunken driving deaths should be considered violent crimes. "We kill more people with DUIs in Virginia in a good year than we do with violent crime." He also cautioned against sending "double messages" to children by encouraging them not to drink and drive and then exposing them to advertisements for beer and alcohol.
But the number of DUI arrests will not matter unless judges convict more drunken drivers, said Teresa McCarthy, a victim advocate with MADD. McCarthy, whose daughter was killed by a drunken driver in Indiana, said police departments and court systems must work together to take drunken drivers off the road.
"Someday the court system will learn what you already know," McCarthy told the officers. "Do not let the lack of meaningful sentences deter you."
She also expressed cautious optimism that the courts were getting tougher. "This past year, I have seen more jail terms than in the entire eight years I've been a victim advocate," she said.
WHILE THE NUMBER of drunken driving deaths in Virginia has been decreasing, alcohol-related fatalities in Northern Virginia have climbed in the past three years. In 2001, 53 Northern Virginians died in drunken driving accidents, up from 49 in 2000 and 40 in 1999.
That trend can be explained by demographics, said Cmdr. Dan Townsend, of the Mount Vernon station, Fairfax County Police. "We're so densely populated," he said.
Staffing problems have also made it harder to police the area adequately. "We're probably 1,000 officers short in Fairfax County," he said.
Fairfax County Police chief Thomas Manger agreed.
"Our available staffing to meet those demands has often not kept pace," he said. "I want to thank everyone who is in a position to make the decisions to allow our men and women to do their jobs."
STARTING JULY 1, county law may be amended to take into account changes made to the state code during the 2002 legislative session. A public hearing on the amendments is scheduled for June 17 at 4:30 p.m.
Among the amendments is a measure that would give the court that convicted a person of drunken driving continuing jurisdiction over that person during any period of license revocation. The court would be able to refer convicted drunken drivers to alcohol safety action programs. Warrants and indictments for DUIs would also be required to say whether a person had previously been convicted of such as offense in the past five or 10 years.
"Any way that we can help keep drunk drivers off the road, we'll do that," said Fairfax County Board of Supervisors chairman Kate Hanley (D-At Large).
Hanley, who attended the May 30 ceremony, said she has long been involved in efforts to reduce drunken driving. "I'm always impressed by the dedication and diligence with which our police officers go after drunk drivers, and their concern on finding ways to curb repeat offenders," she said.