Modesto CA –The Stanislaus Sheriff’s Department and its contract cities of Riverbank, Patterson, Hughson, and Waterford, have teamed up with the Department of Motor Vehicles to keep suspended drivers with prior DUI convictions off of the road.
The Hot List program started on March 28th this year. Twice per month the DMV will send a 'Hot List” to Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department. The hot list will include all people in the area who have at least two prior convictions for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) and are currently suspended for one of those convictions. There are over 1500 such drivers in the Stanislaus County area.
After receiving the list from DMV, deputies assigned to traffic assignments or municipalities will confirm the driver is suspended and put out a list of their own with 20 to 25 of the most likely to re-offend. The list will contain the name, address, and vehicle description of the offender. This list will then be issued to all officers in order that they are on the lookout.
The Stanislaus Sheriff’s Department may also use sting operations and stakeouts to catch the suspended drivers. Deputy Gary Vernon of the Sheriff’s Traffic Unit said, “These are the most dangerous drivers on the road. Our goal is to stop them from driving until their privilege has been reinstated. Hopefully many of them will hear of this program and decide not to drive. We will be out there trying to catch the rest.”
The DUI driver in 24% of all fatal DUI crashes has at least one prior conviction as do 27% of drivers arrested for DUI. 75% of drivers convicted of DUI continue to drive despite being suspended or revoked. DMV started this program two years ago with about a dozen cities around the state. The program has recently been expanded to 35 cities and counties in California.
Funding for this program is from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Please contact Deputy Gary Vernon of the Riverbank Police Services at 209-863-7142 for any questions or via email at [email protected].
If you have any tips, you can leave an anonymous tip by calling Crime Stoppers at (209) 521-4636. Tipsters can also e-mail tips at http://www.modestopolice.com/CrimeStoppers, or text them to CRIMES (274637) by typing "Tip704" plus the message and be eligible for a cash reward
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Adam Christianson, Sheriff – Coroner
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