Washington DUI suspects given a choice

In a Washington county, DUI suspects that fail to show up in court are given the choice of turning themselves in or getting arrested at home or work. Law enforcement has made it a priority to round up DUI suspects failing to appear in court and in 2003 was able to get more than 1,100 court no shows as a result.

Law enforcement agencies have teamed up in the past several years to track DUI suspects that never show up for court. By working with the jails and courts to prepare for the additional offenders, law enforcement officers caught more than 100 DUI suspects in 2001 and 2002. The aid of other Washington state agencies has allowed state troopers to find out information like where many of the suspects live and work.

When DUI suspects are given the choice of turning themselves in and avoiding the embarrassment of being arrested at home or at work, many of the suspects do, according to troopers. Many state patrol divisions have set up special warrant teams to find the no shows.