Crime & Safety

Will County 6th in State for DUI Busts; Romeoville is 64th, Report Shows

Romeoville averaged 1.70 arrests per officer last year.

With 104 arrests for impaired driving in 2012, the Romeoville Police Department ranked at No. 64 among the state's municipal police departments, excluding Chicago, according to the results of an Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists survey released last week.

Naperville — the fifth-largest city in Illinois — ranked at No. 2, with 576 DUI arrests last year, and was second only to Rockford. 

Joliet had more DUI arrests than Romeoville, with 136 and a rank of No. 47. That averages out to .56 DUI arrests per sworn officer for Joliet. With 61 sworn officers, Romeoville's 2012 arrest rate was 1.70 per officer.

“Departments that make more DUI arrests do not necessarily pinpoint more drunk drivers in Illinois communities,” said Rita Kreslin, Executive Director of AAIM, in a press release. “[However,] it does indicate additional active enforcement in municipalities and counties, which aides in targeting DUI offenders.”

Itasca had the largest number of DUI arrests per sworn officer, with 11.48 arrests per cop. 

Here's how Romeoville and other Will County towns compare:

  • Naperville - Rank: 2; DUI arrests: 576; arrests per officer: 3.60
  • Bolingbrook - Rank: 33; DUI arrest: 177; arrests per officer: 1.57
  • Joliet - Rank: 47; DUI arrests: 136; arrests per officer: .56
  • Plainfield - Rank: 54; DUI arrests: 122; arrests per officer: 2.39
  • Romeoville - Rank: 64; DUI arrests: 104; arrests per officer: 1.70
  • Shorewood - Rank: 117; DUI arrests: 37; arrests per officer: 1.54
Founded in 1982 and dedicated to keeping drunk and drug-impaired drivers off the road, AAIM releases an annual report on statewide drunken driving arrests. 

“One reason AAIM continues to survey and report the number of impaired driving arrests throughout Illinois because traffic safety advocates believe that drunk drivers who are arrested are the fortunate ones," AAIM Board Vice President and crash survivor, Marti Belluschi said in the release.

"In our impaired driving prevention programs, we always remind people that if they are driving drunk they are lucky if it is a cop that stops them, rather than a tree, another car or a small child."

Read the full story at the AAIM website.


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