Qualifying officers will be selected based on their performance “specific to the DUI,” Shand said. A re-evaluation of DUI arrests and prosecutions will occur every six months, “and if that officer is still leading the way, they’ll get to keep it. If it’s a different officer, then we’ll rotate it.”

Drunken driving has “always been a point of focus” for the department, Shand said. But police decided to step up efforts as the number of driving-impaired crashes rose from 262 in 2017 to 291 last year. The increase came as DUI arrests fell from 851 in 2017 to 805 last year.

“We really decided that we needed to make that a point of emphasis going forward, because there are so many terrible crashes that occur — especially in the nighttime — due to impaired driving,” Shand said. “We really feel like we need to take a positive step to protect the community and reinforce how important that role is for our officers.”

The new ghost cruisers are part of that effort. They were unveiled Saturday at the annual Richmond Walk Like MADD event at Dorey Park in Henrico County, hosted by Mothers Against Drunk Driving.