The Huntington Beach, California police department may embarrass DUI suspects by posting their names on a police website. The LA Times reported that the police department recently floated the idea as a way to increase public awareness and decrease DUI incidents. The website will shame DUI suspects and possibly make intoxicated motorists think twice before getting behind the wheel of a vehicle.
A Lieutenant from the Huntington Beach Police department said, “DUIs are a public safety issue. Public awareness of the problem, and scope of the problem, is one way of addressing any public safety concern. We have a murder once every couple of years in Huntington Beach, but we have a dozen or so people killed in alcohol-related auto crashes every year.”
Arrested DUI suspects are already inscribed in public records and posting their names online will make the crime stand out in public consciousness. According to police department statistics there have been an average of 1,700 DUI arrests a year for the last three years. Recently, police have stepped up DUI enforcement by setting up checkpoints, notifying bars where intoxicated drivers originated from, and lecturing on the perils of drunk driving in local schools.
As a personal injury attorney in Los Angeles I urge motorists to never drive while under the influence of alcohol. While risking arrest, injury, or death, drunk drivers will also be facing public humiliation by having their information splashed over a public website. If intoxicated take a taxi or have a designated driver give you a ride.
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