# Drunk arrests double



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

_By Maureen Boyle, Enterprise staff writer_
After boosting the number of troopers on local roads, state police wound up arresting nearly twice as many people for drunken driving and more than tripled the number of arrests for weapons this year.

"If we get them the first time for drunk driving, maybe there won't be a second time," State Police Major Michael Crisp said.

The number of people arrested on drunken driving charges by state police assigned to the area stretching from Brockton and Taunton to Norwell and Wareham rose from 250 in 2005 to 484 from Jan. 1 to Oct. 8 of this year, a 94 percent increase.

The bulk of the arrests - 316 - were first-time offenders.

The other drunken driving arrests include 83 second-time offenders, 40 third-time offenders, nine four-time offenders, five arrested for a fifth offense and two for a sixth offense.

The hike in arrests comes after state police added 82 troopers to its "D Troop," the area encompassing the Norwell, Middleboro, Bourne and Dartmouth barracks. The staffing was boosted after state police reshuffled some personnel and troopers were hired to replace those who retired. Also, specialty units, such as the community action teams, were moved into some into hot spots in the region.

The roads covered by the troop include routes 140, 24, 3 and interstates 495 and 195. There are now 252 troopers, compared with 170 last year, a 48 percent increase.

"It just shows if law enforcement wants to make a difference, it can," Richard Shire, founder of the Plymouth County chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. "The extra manpower is costly but the real savings, long term, is we are taking drunk drivers off the road .... There is no price tag on the loss of a family member."

Crisp said the hike in drunken driving arrests does not mean more people are drunk behind the wheel - but extra efforts to catch them are paying off.

He said troopers work with local police department to set up drunken-driving roadblocks where impaired drivers are caught with increased frequency.

State police "community action teams" - sent out to problem areas in the region or to address specific issues, such as aggressive driving - have also helped increase the law enforcement presence on the roads, he said.

That has also translated into more than triple the number of weapons arrests by state police in the area.

The number of weapons arrests rose from 36 in 2005 to 127 as of Oct. 8 of this year, a 253 percent increase.

"There are a few more people alive out there because we seized these weapons," Crisp said. "We have more people out there, we can do more and we are able to be more proactive on the road."

Maureen Boyle can be reached at [email protected].


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## Tango (Nov 28, 2004)

Good work D Troop!


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## Andy0921 (Jan 12, 2006)

Good work boyz....


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## adroitcuffs (Jun 3, 2006)

A heartfelt thank you... countless lives have been saved because of these arrests!!


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