MILWAUKEE COUNTY SHERIFF, DAVID A. CLARKE, JR., WRITES TO GOVERNOR DOYLE
On August 29, 2008, Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke, Jr. wrote a letter to Governor Jim Doyle. Sheriff Clarke implored Governor Doyle to "use the power of his office to allow sobriety checkpoints in Wisconsin and publicly affirm Doyle's intent to sign such legislation if delivered to the Governor's office."
This letter and Sheriff Clarke's request was supported by Kari Kinnard, Executive Director, MADD Wisconsin as well as Jennifer's parents, Judy and Paul Jenkins of Mequon.
August 29, 2008
- The Honorable Jim Doyle
- Governor
- State of Wisconsin
- State Capitol, Room 115 East
- Madison, WI 53702
Dear Governor Doyle:
In 2006, I sensed a storm gathering strength. To gain a national perspective, I sent members of my staff to the MADD/NHTSA Law Enforcement Leadership Summit of non-OWl checkpoint states, in New York City. Based in large part on the information sharing and data discussed at that event, a core group, under the control of Wisconsin DOT's Bureau of Traffic Safety (BOTS) Major Daniel Lonsdorf, convened a similar state summit in 2007, in the Dells. Their purpose was to bring the message of sobriety checkpoints to the attention of Wisconsin legislators, law enforcement and prosecutors. Transportation Secretary Busalacchi appeared at this event, to voice the support of your administration to the goals of decreasing drunk driving deaths on our state roadways.
In 2008, this group met, in Arlington, Texas, to discuss how to bring OWl checkpoints to the states that currently prevent their implementation, either through statutory prohibition, a constitutional prohibition, or simply court rulings that prevent their use.
The time for meetings has passed.
I sent members of my patrol division to the City of Orange, California, to shadow Officer Armando Plasencia, who, in a one-year period, made 325 OWl arrests. Clearly, there was something to be learned here; a better way to enforce OWl laws. In January 2008, we started our current OWl initiative in Milwaukee County. By dedicating officers to this crime and deploying them in a data-driven, focused manner, in the first six months of 2008 we have increased our OWl arrest rate by over 63% (860 arrests YTD as compared to 525 at the same time in 2007.)
In the last two years, the MCSO has been stable in the area of 1000 OWl arrests in Milwaukee County. This year, we anticipate doubling that number, nearing 2000 arrests. But Governor, as an over thirty-year law enforcement professional, I must firmly state that we cannot arrest our way out of this problem. An OWl arrest has immediate value, as it
