Increasing DUI arrests only part of the equation

You don't have to be a news junkie to know that one of the biggest scourges across the state, at least in the areas with roads, is the seemingly relentless problem of drunken drivers. Regular readers of the Police Beat in this newspaper know how often drunken or impaired drivers are arrested on Valley roads.

Frustratingly, some of those arrested are repeat offenders. We hear from readers by phone, letter and e-mail complaining of the injustice of the system that allows these drivers back on the road, some a third or fourth time.

Law enforcement officers appear to be doing their part. In an ongoing 10-month initiative called &#8220You Drink and Drive, You Lose,” troopers and local police statewide have now made 395 DUI arrests. That's in addition to the DUI arrests made over the course of each week by regular patrols.

The special patrols are conducted each weekend by the AST DUI Enforcement Team in conjunction with local police departments on a rotating basis. Federal money pays for the overtime.

Wasilla police participated last weekend, along with departments from Kenai and Anchorage, and helped put 10 more DUI arrests on the books.

The DUI team has an all-out blitz on tap for the upcoming weekend. With the Super Bowl slated for Sunday - along with all the revelry that usually accompanies it - extra patrols will be on the roads in Wasilla, Palmer and out of the Palmer trooper post. It should go without saying that Super Bowl partyers should make sure to have a sober designated driver to take them home and keep them from becoming another DUI arrest statistic.

Those statistics are only part of a bigger story, though. Enforcing the laws on the books is necessary. But if those laws aren't deterring drivers from getting behind the wheel impaired, is enforcement enough?

And what about repeat offenders? The fine for a first offense tripled, to $1,500, two years ago, yet DUI arrests continue. Should tougher laws be enacted? Is it time, for example, to consider confiscating vehicles from repeat offenders?

If so, tougher laws are only as good as the resources to back them up. This means more law enforcement officers, more prosecutors and more monitoring - all of which adds up to more money.

For sure, there is no simple fix to the problem. It carries dangers that have the potential to affect a lot of people, most of them innocent. As such, it requires a community solution.

What form that solution ultimately takes, remains to be seen. But in the absence of personal responsibility that could endanger others, intercession is necessary.

We applaud the current law enforcement initiative and look forward to a more lasting solution.