Abbeville Police to have extra DWI patrol each month in 2014

As has been the case in past years, the Abbeville Police Department will receive grant money this year to help launch campaigns against drunk driving and other violations.
In 2014, the APD will see changes in the way that grant money is utilized. The Louisiana Highway Safety Commission (LHSC), the agency from which the Abbeville Police receives grant money for various operations, is now requiring a monthly effort from departments that use the grants.
“We used to do it at certain periods of the year,” Abbeville Police Lt. David Hardy said. “We would do it in May when kids would get out of school and September, usually around Labor Day. This year we are going to do something every month.
“Every month we will have a time when we have extra officers looking for DWIs and seatbelt violations.”
The grant year for the LHSC actually runs from October to October. The Abbeville Police Department used grant money received last fall to step up patrol. Extra officers were out from Dec. 16 through the end of the year. Officers made one DWI arrest and issued several tickets for seatbelts.
“The weather affected things a little bit,” Hardy said of fewer drivers on the road. “We only got one DWI but we took that person off the road.”
Checkpoints have proved effective in stopping drunk drivers. The APD made several such arrests during a pair of checkpoints late last summer. Hardy said the checkpoints serve as a great tool for the APD but are a difficult undertaking due to the amount of resources necessary to conduct one, which can cost more than $1,000.
“We are going to look at working with some other agencies to do the checkpoints,” Hardy said.
It is not a matter of grant money being the only way to stop drunk drivers. Regular patrol also leads to DWI arrest.
“Understand that our regular patrol is looking for DWIs,” Hardy said. “They made an arrest this weekend for one. We are just hoping these extra hours lead to more. We are going to be out there day or night, it doesn’t matter.
“We want to take these people off the street so that nobody gets hurt.”