First of all, Gale, let me thank you for all the great advice you've given in this forum. I have read through many of the postings and your insight is invaluable. Maybe you should write a book!

As far as my topic, I am wondering why there is such a reluctance on the part of many police departments to investigate DUI/DWI reports? Let me explain. For many years I drove a moving truck interstate and on several occasions I observed vehicles that were obviously being operated by a driver under the influence of something. Most of the time when I called 911 the dispatcher took my information and said they would "check it out". I can recall only one occasion where an officer actually showed up and pulled the offender over. Several times I was behind a drunk driver for 20 miles or more before they pulled off the highway, and no law enforcement showed up. It's not like they would be hard to find...just look for Willy Weaver in front of a big white moving truck!

Last Sunday morning my wife was going to the store and saw a roadside service truck driving erratically. (This was not a public vehicle, it was owned by aaa big road service company.) She dutifully called 911 to report it and gave the information she was asked for. She followed the truck for a few minutes until it pulled into a convenience store, then went on her way. On the way home my wife saw the same truck pulling out of the convenience store parking lot, still driving erratically and the driver was now drinking something out of a brown paper bag. She called 911 again, was given a response like, "Oh it's you again," and told by the dispatcher to stop following the truck. Being the scofflaw she is she kept the truck in sight until it pulled into an apartment complex where, hopefully, it stayed put. At no time during this entire episode did a LEO show up despite having a thorough description of the vehicle, its license number and location, and the dispatcher seemed like she couldn't care less.

Gale, I recall seeing bumper stickers saying REPORT DRUNK DRIVING on police cars for many years, but the overwhelming attitude towards it seems to be one of complacency. Does it only apply after the drunk driver has killed someone? I'm sorry if my attitude seems cynical but I just can't understand why law enforcement agencies are taking DUI/DWI reports with a grain of salt?

(Epilogue: My wife called the big road service company and reported the incident. They were very upset and apologetic and promised they would investigate right away. I'm glad they took it seriously!)

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1998 Mark VIII Collector's Edition - She's rough, I'll have to see if I can save her...

I must tell you that every law enforcement agency I'm familiar with takes drunk driving (and reports of drunk driving) very seriously, and your experiences could have been the result of any number of factors. All law enforcement agencies experience periods known as "blackouts", in which all of its officers are busy on calls, and they literally have none available to send to additional calls coming in. When this happens (which is more often than most people realize), pending calls are prioritized according to nature and other parameters, and are dispatched from the top of the list down as officers become available. As you can imagine, the list of pending calls can change dramatically depending on the types of calls coming in - one that's at the top of the list could be far from it in just a matter of minutes. While serious (especially to the witness), the report of a possible DUI would be of a lesser priority than many other types of calls. In a large city that's experiencing a blackout, it could be hours before such a call is actually dispatched.

In rural jurisdictions where there is no police department (like where I live), calls such as this are handled by the sheriffs department and/or the state highway patrol. In my situation, for example, if I were to make a report to the sheriffs department, the responding deputy (if one is available) could be coming from 30-miles away or more.

When the dispatcher told your wife to stop following the vehicle, it sounds to me like they were in a blackout situation, and subsequently there was no use in her continuing to follow. Some departments are reluctant to inform people that they have no officers available, which is a policy I personally disagree with. Had this dispatcher told your wife that all officers were busy, she could have stopped following and gone about her business.

One thing you can do, should something like this happen again, is to talk to a patrol or communications supervisor at the agency where you made the report. Tell him or her exactly what happened, and ask for the details as to how your report was handled. The supervisor should be able to tell you the precise times the call was dispatched, when the officer was en-route, when the officer arrived, when the call was completed and the disposition.

Gale
Ex-Mark VIII Owner (for now)
06 Monte Carlo SS, 12K miles

Gale, thanks so much for your answer. My wife thanks you too. We figure that since this incident happened on a Sunday morning, many officers may have been handling traffic going in and out of the big churches in our area. Of course I've run in to the problem at other times, but who knows what else may have been going on. It still concerns me, but your insights do help a lot!

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1998 Mark VIII Collector's Edition - She's rough, I'll have to see if I can save her...

According to your profile, Vince, I think your law enforcement services are provided by the Brevard County Sheriff's Department. If this is true, you can probably count on long response times to calls such as your wife made. The reason for this is that sheriff's deputies are generally spread pretty thin, and have huge areas to cover compared to city cops. I live in an unincorporated area, and we have what I know to be an excellent sheriff's department. Having said that, I also know that even in an emergency situation, I'm probably looking at response times of at least 20-minutes...and perhaps much longer depending on what else they might have going on at the time. But, that's a price one must pay for the absolute joy of living in a rural area.

Gale
Ex-Mark VIII Owner (for now)
06 Monte Carlo SS, 12K miles