Drunken Driving Arrests Down in Port Washington, Saukville

Editor's note: Intern Charlie Gorney contributed to this story.

Port Washington and Saukville have seen a decrease in drunken driving arrests over the last five years, and police officials are saying work load and education are among possible reasons why.

According to a Patch analysis of state arrest data, a five-year trend shows a nearly 20 percent decrease in Port Washington and a 63 percent drop in Saukville for OWI arrests from 2007 to 2012. This mirrors the general trend in the Milwaukee suburbs, where OWI arrests are down 30 percent overall.

Police in Port Washington made 72 arrests in 2007, but just 58 last year. In Saukville, 38 people were arrested for drunken driving in 2007; there were 14 arrests made last year.

Port Washington Police Chief Kevin Hingiss and Saukville Police Chief Jeff Goetz both said their officers have less time to patrol, citing different reasons such as paperwork, other crimes that need to be monitored — such as a recent rash of thefts and burglaries from homes and cars in Saukville — and vacation coverage as well as other unexpected time off.

"I think it's staffing challenges combined with the fact that the other crimes that need serious investigations are going up, and that takes (our officers) away from being able to patrol (often)," Goetz said, adding that OWI arrests are time consuming: a 2nd offense drunken-driving arrest, for instance, can take 3 to 4 hours between the arrest, a trip to the hospital for a blood draw, paperwork and so on. 

Hingiss said officers in Port have also made fewer arrests during festival weekends in recent years, and he attributed that change to education as well as safe rides home — such as free shuttles.

"I think there's a lot of people that take advantage of (free shuttles) — we don't make nearly the amount of arrests for drunk driving that we used to years ago," Hingiss said. "I think some of that is the free shuttles and some of that is education. I think people understand (the) consequences that could happen if you drink and drive."

• MORE: Do Fewer OWI Arrests Mean Fewer Drunken Drivers?

What The Numbers Say

The decline in arrests locally is happening throughout the Milwaukee suburbs.

In 2007, suburban police departments in Milwaukee, Racine, Waukesha and Ozaukee counties made 5,578 arrests for drunken driving, according to data from the Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance. In 2012, that figure had fallen to 3,868 — a 30 percent decline.

To paint a picture of what’s happening in the suburbs, Patch reviewed drunken driving arrests for nearly 50 law enforcement agencies in all four counties, excluding the cities of Milwaukee and Racine, and the sheriff’s departments, which typically do not patrol the suburban streets.

Sheriff’s Department Sees Spike in Arrests

Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke has made drunken driving a top priority for his department, with arrest numbers topping 1,000 in four of the last six years. For Clarke, a behavioral change to diminish drunken driving can be reached with “multiple interventions,” such as enforcement, education and legislation.

Clarke told Patch that at this point in the effort to decrease drunken driving, he needs “Madison to get on board” with these proposed legislative changes.

“I could put a thousand more cars out there, but we need some more help legislatively,” he said. “No other state has this carnage. They make it clear that there will be consequences. In Wisconsin, we do not send that message.”