New Program To Fight Against Drunk Driving

Montgomery County needed new, innovative, and comprehensive solutions that would use resources not normally tapped by law enforcement agencies. Consequently, Lieutenant David Falcinelli and Officer William Morrison of the Montgomery County Police Department created and implemented the multi-agency “Enhanced Impaired Driving Task Force” program as a new strategy to raise awareness, motivate officers, and educate the community.

This comprehensive program was aimed at improving the safety of all motorists. It used civilian personnel and multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Montgomery County Police in cooperation with the Maryland State Police, the Maryland National Capital Park Police, Gaithersburg City Police, and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. The Enhanced Impaired Driving Task Force was responsible for training volunteer civilians to help identify DUI offenders and using Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) volunteers to assist officers with paperwork, and to set up targeted enforcement at selected locations in Montgomery County.

Types of enforcement strategies used by the task force included regular sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols, the Cops-in-Shops program, the Repeat Offender program, and the Operation Fake-Out program, as well as a new program called “Operation Extra Eyes.” During task force activities, officers certified as drug recognition experts (DREs), commercial vehicle inspectors, and child safety seat specialists were available to provide their services if necessary.