‘No-Refusal’ Operations Due in Kane County
Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office, local police to launch effort on the weekend before Halloween and the night before Thanksgiving.
Photos
If you’ve been arrested for driving under the influence, you shouldn’t have been driving, period. But if you think it’s a smart move to refuse to take a breath test when you are arrested for DUI, don’t count on it.
The Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office is planning with local police to conduct three “no-refusal” operations over the next 43 days — on the weekend before Halloween and on the night before Thanksgiving — to discourage drunken driving
The first of the two operations will be Oct. 26-27 and Oct. 27-28, the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office announced in a release, and the second will be Nov. 21-22. They will begin in the evening and end after midnight.
Many police agencies already run enhanced DUI patrols on the weekend before Halloween and the night before Thanksgiving. The “no refusal” operations give police another tool to use during DUI arrests.
According to the state’s attorney’s office release, the initiative targets those who have been arrested for DUI but refuse to submit to a lawfully requested breath test. Prosecutors and police officers work together to quickly obtain a search warrant to compel a DUI suspect to submit to a lawful blood or breath test as required by Illinois’ Implied Consent statute. The “no refusal” strategy expedites the DUI booking process.
“Our office has a responsibility to prosecute DUI offenders and to educate the public not to drive when they drink. Our goal with ‘no-refusal’ operations is to make Kane County’s roads safer,” Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon said in the release.
“The weekend before Halloween and the night before Thanksgiving traditionally are occasions for friends to get together and party,” McMahon said in the release. “We do not wish to discourage that, but we do expect that people will party responsibly. We run these operations as a reminder that when the party is over, people who have been drinking alcohol should not drive.”
Participating towns and police agencies will not be revealed in advance.
According to the release, Illinois courts have held consistently that no one has a right to refuse chemical testing when probable cause exists. Anyone who fails to submit to chemical testing after a search warrant has been obtained could face additional sanctions.
Greg in Huntley
7:08 am on Sunday, October 14, 2012
I think random breath tests - like the 3 they are proposing - similar to the ones where every driver is stopped and checked for safely violations and seat belts is pure harassment. I think people should only be stopped if they appear to be under the influence.
Perhaps on those dates everyone should boycott driving and buying at stores and see how much that hurts the local economy. Less tax revenue will also send a signal to the police to stop harassing law abiding citizens.
Denise
9:38 am on Sunday, October 14, 2012
To Greg in Huntley. I think you misunderstood. I think the article was saying that if they suspect you for driving under the influence they can obtain an immediate warrant to make you take a breath test. I do not think they were randomly stopping drivers and doing the test. I think this is great because too many drunk drivers kill innocent people.
Rob
10:30 am on Sunday, October 14, 2012
According to the state’s attorney’s office release, the initiative targets those who have been arrested for DUI but refuse to submit to a lawfully requested breath test. Prosecutors and police officers work together to quickly obtain a search warrant to compel a DUI suspect to submit to a lawful blood or breath test as required by Illinois’ Implied Consent statute. The “no refusal” strategy expedites the DUI booking process.
You are correct Denise, it's is a way to force those arrested to take a breath test, against there will. I don't drink and drive but if a person can pass all of the field sobriety tests they can throw at them....are they really a danger? Isn't the right to refuse a RIGHT? Much like Greg said, random check points and no refusal weekends are pushing the envelope of our freedoms as citizens. I would wonder if they also check for citizenship....or would that be a violation of their rights? The lines are being blurred in the name of revenue...there is no really control on spending, so they have to continue to impede our rights to raise more money.
Where does it end?