MPD partnering with other local departments for additional OWI enforcement this weekend
by Beth Kraft
In an effort to get drunken drivers off area roads, the Mondovi Police Department and three other area law enforcement agencies will have additional squads on duty this weekend, Oct. 30 and 31.
MPD sergeant Tim Hollister says the cost of the extra patrols this Friday and Saturday will be covered by an OWI Task Force Grant the department received along with the Buffalo County Sheriff’s Department and the Durand and Osseo police departments.
“The goal of this is the potential for improving traffic safety,” Hollister explained. “It’s a high-visibility enforcement grant.”
The additional squads will be situated in plain sight along common roads, Hollister said, such as U.S. Highway 10.
“The goal is if you’ve got somebody driving under the influence and they see these extra patrols, it will get them off the road,” he said.
Issued by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation as part of a highway safety project, the grant will allow the MPD to conduct additional traffic enforcement twice a month through September 2016. The $9,600 cost for additional MPD patrols will be reimbursed by the state, Hollister said.
Issuing more OWI citations is not the driving force behind the additional patrols, Hollister said, but achieving compliance from the public is.
During this crackdown on drunken drivers and throughout the year, the MPD and other area departments are encouraging the public to “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.”
There were more than 24,000 convictions for drunken driving last year in Wisconsin, police say. An arrest carries expensive penalties, suspension or revocation of driving privileges and mandatory installation of a vehicle ignition interlock device. Jail and severe financial and legal penalties await those who may injure or kill an innocent victim while driving drunk.
The dates of this and future OWI enforcement efforts will be posted on the Mondovi Police Department’s Facebook page, Hollister says.
