Marin County, CA

07/05/2022 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/05/2022 15:33

Check of DUI Offenders Results in 1 Arrest

San Rafael, CA - Officers from the Marin County Probation Department recently made an arrest after conducting a countywide unannounced check on local probationers who had previous convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

On June 28, four teams of Probation officers worked with law enforcement partners to conduct searches at 17 residences and test offenders for recent drug and alcohol use. Three offenders were noncompliant with terms of probation and received dates to appear in Marin County Superior Court for a determination of a possible jail sentence. One warrant led to an arrest, and the subject was booked into Marin County Jail.

According to health studies, Marin's per-capita alcohol consumption is higher than 80% of the counties in the state. The U.S. has experienced a steady increase in alcohol mortality over the past 20 years according to the National Institutes of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns combined with industry deregulation led to a dramatic increase in alcohol-related death rates.

The Marin County Department of Health and Human Services offers a wide range of education, prevention, treatment, and counseling services to Marin residents to reduce the misuse of alcohol, opioids, and tobacco. The Marin County Probation Department also offers many resources to the clients it supervises to provide rehabilitation services and encourages that population to end the cycle of incarceration.

In June 2019, County Probation was notified that it was one of the Office of Traffic and Safety grant recipients for supervision of high-risk DUI offenders. The grant funding empowers the department to provide quality-intensive supervision rather than having many of those convicted receive minimal contact. Probation has successfully met the requirements of that grant, which allows the department to continue to receive funding.

"A part of our department's mission is to further justice and ensure community safety," said Administrative Supervisor Terry Wright, who oversees the DUI grant. "These sweeps are significant in keeping the community safe and determining which clients need further rehabilitation resources. The DUI grant provides us the resources to supervise third-time DUI offenders who previously would not be under our supervision."

Probation has committed to DUI offender sweeps quarterly, unannounced probation searches, chemical testing, checks on interlock ignition devices, and encouraging treatment would be the main focus of supervision.