Your chances of being arrested for DUI in Rhode Island could depend on where you live and who is on duty at the time, Channel 10 News reports.
A lack of police officers properly trained in the administration of breathalyzer examinations could prevent a department from charging you with drunk driving. Rhode Island drunk driving defense lawyers frequently challenge an officer's training and experience when it comes to field sobriety tests and breathalyzer examinations. In some cases, you may be tested by an unqualified officer. Such circumstances can result in a dismissal of the charges against you. But without an experienced DUI defense lawyer on your side, you may not discover whether the officer has been properly trained to administer a breathalyzer test or field sobriety tests.
Those face Providence DUI charges may be most at risk of dealing with an inexperienced or unqualified officer. Only 20 officers in Providence are qualified to run the Breathalzyer-- or just 4 percent of the force.
The news report found just 42 officers in East Providence were certified, compared to 119 in Warwick, 95 in Cranston, 53 in Woonsocket and 65 in Pawtucket. Pawtucket had the next-lowest percentage certification, with only 40 percent of officers on the force qualified to run the Breathalyzers.
Perhaps in part as a result, Providence only arrested 85 drivers for drunk driving in 2009. In comparison, smaller communities made more arrests: Woonsocket had 166, Coventry had 165, Middletown had 122 and Warwick had 371.
The news report suggests that because Warwick makes more arrests that the city is better at preventing drunk driving. Number of arrests can be a misleading statistic as it has not relationship to the number of convictions. It is not surprising that towns with less violent crime will make more DUI arrests, given that a DUI arrests is based on the opinion of the arresting officer and is easy to charge, but can be difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt.
Providence DUI Defense Attorney Michael DelSignore provides aggressive and experienced drunk driving defense to motorists facing charges throughout Rhode Island. Call (401) 465-1611 for a free and confidential consultation to discuss your rights.
The Law Offices of Michael DelSignore are conveniently located in Warwick, Newport and Attleboro. Call 24 hours a day, including weekends and holidays.
