From the Chief of Police

Bill Gardner Chief of Police

Drunk Driving and Youth: A Life and Death Decision

As the weather has warmed and daylight crept back into our evenings, we have seen an alarming increase in alcohol consumption by youth. We have found more nighttime celebrations where underage adolescents are drinking and where the alcohol is supplied illegally by adults. Tragically, we have responded to end-of-life vehicle accidents involving young people, with 3 needless deaths in the last few weeks within our city limits.

What are we doing? Here is a list of some of our strategies which, like all good police work, involve prevention, law enforcement and community partnership:

• High school Law Related Education classes: our officers as well as other criminal justice system professionals attempt to raise the consciousness of our teenagers about the law and the dangers associated with drinking alcohol through approved curriculum.
• Our Mesa State College Unit works with the college to educate young adults in a similar fashion. Both our high school officers and our college unit target likely drinking events, such as parties, celebrations, and music events, and they issue summonses to underage drinkers.
• The Grand Junction Police Department (GJPD) has a vigorous Liquor Enforcement Unit. We engage in “Sting Operations” targeting liquor establishments who fail to I.D. purchasers and surveillance activities in order to catch adults supplying liquor to minors – a felony.
• We have grant dollars specifically for drunk driving apprehension and arrests. With those dollars we plan saturation patrols (i.e., intense marked and unmarked police unit area patrol), bar and liquor store watches (for intoxicated drivers leaving), and sobriety checkpoints.
• ALL GJPD patrol officers are trained in recognition signals for drunk drivers, safe traffic stops of such suspects, and current science based and lawful investigation techniques.
• As for our youth, we need our parents, grandparents, teachers and employers to help us get through to them. Join us, and our partnership with the Underage Drinking Task Force, and encourage all our public and private institutions to reach out to our youth so they can stay alive.
• Finally, with this Message from the Chief, we are appealing to our citizens to STOP friends or family from getting behind the wheel after drinking.  Just as is the case with any serious crime spree, we cannot successfully intervene without the support and information from YOU – our citizens.

Alcohol abuse is a public health matter of grave proportions. Drunk driving is a serious crime against society. In the days and weeks ahead, citizens will note an ever increasing presence of our patrol officers enforcing traffic laws, particularly in our evening and nighttime hours. Please drive carefully, and please support our officers as they strive to get intoxicated drivers off the road one by one.

Updated Friday, June 12, 2009