June 04, 2005
Saturday

Jeff, I saw your letter. You pose an interesting question. I would challenge you to look up the statutes for DWI/DUI. Being proactive starts with the community itself. The average DWI offender has approximately 200 prior incidents of driving under the influence prior to being arrested. Police officers are not counselors, social workers or parents. Protecting the public begins with being responsible and accountable for your own actions. If you make the choice to stagger down the street so be it, once you drive off, the consequences are the offenders lot. Out of the numerous crimes that happen, it is the DWI offender that can have such a wide range of innocent victims.

Rather than fault the police for following the letter and intent of the law, please, put the blame on the abuser and not the enforcer. An officer can not babysit an adult that is intoxicated until they sober up and are able to drive. Without an arrest, a person can just return after the officer leaves the scene.

Protecting the public is everyone's job and it starts with being responsible for your own actions. Judgement of the police is not an issue for me. The impaired judgement of someone under the influence is. This is a small town, with just a few roads that we all share. I'll thank the police for doing their job every time an impaired driver is taken off the road.

Jessica Mathews
Ketchikan, AK - USA

Related Viewpoint:

Protecting the community By Jeff Kemp - Juneau, AK - USA

 

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