The News Room [News Archive]
Sheriff Contact: John Roach: 313-224-0615
Release Date: Friday, March 14, 2003
Sheriff
Evans leads "Operation LAST CALL" to take deadbeat
drunk drivers off local streets
Multi-agency effort targets
repeat offenders who don't show for court
One hundred
police officers from the Wayne County Sheriff Office,
Michigan State Police, Livonia Police Department and a dozen
other local law enforcement agencies have fanned out across metro
Detroit this week to round up the area's most dangerous "Deadbeat
Drunk Drivers."
Wayne County
Sheriff Warren C. Evans said that "Operation LAST CALL" has
targeted many of the thousands of offenders at large who have
been charged with, or convicted of, drinking and driving offenses
but who have failed to show in court or violated their probation.
The effort has been timed with St. Patrick's Day weekend,
one of the year's worst for drinking and driving.
The message
Sheriff Evans and the other involved agencies have for celebrants
is clear.
"If you
drink and drive, we're eventually going to catch you," Evans
said. "And if you fail to appear in court to face your
charges, we'll find you again, but this time we'll
have a warrant in our hand."
According to
Wayne County's 3rd Circuit Court and Prosecutor records,
there are more than 6,000 offenders currently at large for a
variety of drinking & driving offense, including: OUIL Third
Offense; OUIL Serious Injury and OUIL Manslaughter.
"We
consider the individuals we are arresting this week ticking time
bombs, and they need to be taken off the streets," said
Livonia Police Chief Peter Kunst. "By working collectively,
our agencies are being far more effective than if we had tried
to accomplish the same thing individually."
Operation LAST
CALL officers, working from their command post at the Livonia
Police Department, have arrested 56 people wanted on a variety
of charges during the first two days of the sweep. Although the
number represents a small percentage of those at large, Evans
said that the impact is greater when considering the potential
toll of leaving these people on the street.
"The
odds are very good that one of these individuals eventually would
have gone on to kill or injure somebody. If we have save one
tragedy from occurring, then the effort has been worth it," Evans
said.
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Joining
in the sweep are:
| Participating
Agency |
Number
of officers |
| Wayne
County Sheriff's Dept. |
24 |
| Livonia |
14 |
| Michigan
State Police |
12 |
| Dearborn |
8 |
| Taylor |
8 |
| Westland |
7 |
| Canton |
3 |
| Northville,
Northville Twp. |
4 each |
| Plymouth,
Plymouth Twp |
2 each |
| Garden
City |
5 |
| Wayne |
4 |
| Dearborn
Heights |
3 |
|
Total:
100 |
Evans
said he plans to make drunken driving fugitive enforcement an
ongoing part of the Sheriff Office because it will
help keep violators – and the justice system – accountable.
"Many
offenders have come to believe that if they just don't
show for court, that we'll lose track of them," Evans
said. "If we don't come and get them, they will feel
empowered to continue to drink and drive."
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