The article below alerts the public of a new strategy which is starting in Lancaster County SC just in time for summer. While we applaud the intentions by police officials, we are equally concerned that otherwise innocent individuals may be falsely charged in this broad sweep of citizens. Checkpoints and “on the spot sobriety tests” should concern all freedom loving persons. While no one wants truly drunk drivers on our roads, it is becoming too easy to surrender our basic rights in the current DUI hysteria. Be careful if you dare have a drink with dinner or a beer with a friend. Remember that if you are stopped by the police with ANY scent of alcohol on your breath, you will most likely be arrested no matter what you do or say at that point. Of course, the easiest way to avoid all potential trouble is to designate a non-drinking driver to get everyone home safely. If this option is not possible, the best advice we can give you pre-arrest is to exercise your Constitutional rights and politely decline to answer any questions, perform any field sobriety (roadside) tests, and do NOT submit to breathalyzer testing (BAC machine).
The DUI attorneys at Reeves Aiken & Hightower LLP stand ready to aggressively represent you if you are charged with a DUI in Lancaster, SC. Tyler Burns is a former Sixteenth Circuit DUI prosecutor. Carefully compare our firm’s credentials against any other firm. For more information about us, please visit our website at www.rjrlaw.com. Then, call us directly for a confidential consultation of your particular case, even in the evenings or on the weekends, at 877-374-5999.
DUI crackdown part of Lancaster Co. initiative
Party patrols and on-the-spot sobriety tests will soon become common sights in Lancaster now that the county has started an initiative to combat its high rates of DUI arrests.
The Lancaster County Coalition for Healthy Youth laid out plans Tuesday to post photographs of every person who commits DUI in the county or city and send out surveys to 1,200 residents every two months gauging their reactions to the new campaign, said Paul McKenzie, a member of the coalition and research director for the Lancaster County School District.
New strategies include targeting communities rather than individual teens or families, conducting more party patrols and helping law enforcement officials become “visibly aggressive,” McKenzie said.
“Environmental prevention strategies involve changing community norms,” he said.
South Carolina was one of two states chosen to partner with the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention for the initiative. Within the state, Lancaster County was one of two counties chosen for the new strategy because it has the highest rate of DUIs in the state, McKenzie said.
In 2011, county deputies arrested 267 people for DUI’s, McKenzie said. There were 67 DUI-related crashes in the county last year. The county exceeded the national average for binge drinking and underage drinking in 2002.
The initiative partners the Lancaster City Police Department, Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office and S.C. Highway Patrol together, said Sheriff Barry Faile.
By Jonathan McFadden
www.heraldonline.com/2012/05/15/3975772/dui-crackdown-part-of-new-lancaster.html#storylink=cpy