Amador County District
Attorney Todd Riebe is teaming
up with District Attorney’s from our neighboring counties and the California
District Attorney’s Association, or CDAA, to unveil a statewide prosecutor’s campaign
to combat the rising numbers of arrests and accidents from driving under the
influence of alcohol. “Make it Home or The Holidays” is the theme of the campaign
to be launched by the CDAA. This marks the nation’s first coordinated
effort by the prosecutors association to focus attention on driving under the
influence.
The campaign is being spurred on by statistic that shoe DUI arrests and
accidents are once again increasing in California while decreasing in other
states. In 2005 alone there were 1719 alcohol related fatalities in CA,
approaching the number of homicides in the state, according to CDAA Executive Director
David LaBahn. CDAA will receive a 3.4 million dollar grant from the federal Office
of Traffic Safety to assist prosecutors throughout the state in prosecuting DUI
cases.
DMV statistics show that Amador County had
the highest DUI conviction rate in the state of California. However,
despite the best efforts of local law enforcement and prosecutors, through
November 2006 Amador
County has experienced a 69 percent increase in the number of criminal DUI
filings, with the Holiday season yet to go. Another disturbing trend here in
Amador County is the number of juvenile DUI’s.
According to DA Todd
Riebe “You have to do the
math-more drunk drivers on the road equals more DUI-related accidents and
fatalities,” Riebe continued “As guardians of public safety, we simply
cannot tolerate increases like this. Drunk driving is a crime that has
unleashed untold havoc and pain upon our families and our community. As a prosecutor, I am determined to
get drunk driving numbers down in Amador County by working with my colleagues
throughout the state to reverse this trend and bring more of our loved ones
home safely for the holidays”
