QC Police get state help for traffic safety crackdown

Oct. 18—The Queen Creek Police Department is getting help in cracking down on impaired and other dangerous drivers.

The department received two grants from the Governor's Office of Highway Safety to address speeding and drug- and alcohol-related infractions in town, where dangerous traffic conditions are increasing along with double-digit population growth.

"Our DUI enforcement continues to be one of our top five arrests in the town so we are very active in DUI enforcement," said Queen Creek Police department Chief Randy Brice.

The grants, totaling $132,377, have already been used to buy equipment to target drunken driving, Brice said.

But the gear is also being used by the department, barely more than half a year old, to focus on reducing the overall number of accidents in town, no matter the cause.

"We started tracking our collisions or crashes early on," Brice said. "After

we were able to deploy some of this equipment and get our staffing out there to be able to do some directed or targeted patrols, we did see a decrease overall in crashes.

"We are really looking to try to eliminate fatals, obviously, but reducing any type of injury. That's always been our focus is reducing any injuries."

A specially equipped police vehicle to target drivers who may driving while intoxicated or drug-impaired is still being readied for patrol.

The department also used the grant money to buy handheld radar guns and portable breath testing equipment, including one high-tech unit called the Intoxilyzer 9000.

"That is the one that is admissible in court," Brice said.

According to its website, the Intoxilyzer 9000 works by detecting alcohol in the human body using infrared spectroscopy rather than a Breathalyzer brand blood-alcohol analyzer, which works by detecting a chemical reaction in a DUI suspect who blows into a tube and

resulting in a color change if the person is intoxicated.

QCPD also bought what the chief says is critical equipment needed for field investigations, DUI, "drug-related driving investigations and general traffic safety," Brice said.

"The tools that we have are terribly important in order to provide a fair and balanced way of doing patrols and enforcing the laws," he added.

"We don't want to guess at things. We want to make sure we have precision tools to properly investigate whether it's a speeding incident or DUI, that we have the best equipment to give a fair analysis to the people we're dealing with."

Though it is too soon to tell if the department has reduced the number of DUI arrests made, Brice said the data do show that the department is making headway in reducing the number of total accidents on Queen Creek's roads.

"For us, when we see the numbers go down on injuries," Brice said, "and people reduce the number of crashes, that's a really big deal to us.

"We're looking at high speeds. Left turns. Intersection related incidents. Those are all the ones we really focus on, but we follow the trends. We look at what the data tells us and we respond in that way."

A recent spate of serious accidents in and around Queen Creek has put the traffic problems in town more sharply in focus.

An unidentified driver of a cross-over SUV was killed in an accident Oct. 7 when it collided with a crane truck parked

along State Route 24 near Williams Field Road. Three passengers in the SUV had to be extricated.

According to the latest data from the governor's Office of Highway Safety, Arizona saw an increase in the number of DUI arrests statewide in the period for which the latest data are available.

Police statewide made 1,963 DUI arrests between Dec. 1 and Dec. 31, 2021, a 13% increase over the same period in 2020.

"Statewide, the numbers are concerning," Brice said. "Drugs and alcohol continue to be a problem in every community. And so, we are really trying to make sure we are addressing those things early. We want to make sure that when people are traveling the roads, they are safe."

Arizona has among the most stringent DUI laws in the nation.

A person is considered legally intoxicated with a blood alcohol content of .08%, and is charged with Extreme DUI if

they are caught driving with a BAC of .20 or higher.

It is also state law that anyone convicted of a DUI offense have their car equipped with a Mandatory Ignition Interlock Device (that tests a driver's BAC before they can start their car.

"The penalties for impaired driving in Arizona are severe and include mandatory jail time, thousands of dollars in fines and court fees, suspension of driving license or privilege to drive, vehicle impoundment and other expenses," the governor's highway office says on its website.

Brice said that QCPD will continue to be aggressive in DUI and other impaired driving enforcement cases, and the department has made additional grant requests to the Office of Highway Safety.

Brice hopes resources from those

grants will be put to use in the coming calendar year.

"When it comes to traffic in Queen Creek, it's a high priority. It's been our number one since the beginning," Brice said. "We are responsive. We are listening and we are using the tools that have been provided to really make a big difference."