Stunning decline in DUI arrests has negative impact on Central Florida non-profits Share Shares Copy Link Copy

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JIM: AND WHILE THAT MIGHT KEEP US SAFER, WESH 2 NEWS INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER GREG FOX SHOWS US HOW IT’S HAVING A NEGATIVE EFFECT ON NON-PROFIT AGENCIES INCLUDING THOSE THAT HELP VICTIMS. GREG: IT’S CALLED A "WOLF PACK," DOZENS OF COPS WHO PROWL THE STREETS LOOKING FOR LAWBREAKERS, ESPECIALLY DRUNK DRIVERS. ON A RECENT NIGHT WHEN WE JOINED THE PACK, THEY STOPPED, AND TESTED, AND ARRESTED PEOPLE BELIEVED TO BE UNDER THE INFLUENCE. BUT GUESS WHAT? >> WE ARE SEEING FEWER DUI ARRESTS, YES. GREG THAT’S RIGHT. :LIEUTENANT BOB STEPHENS THOUGHT IT WAS A FLUKE, BUT STARTED SEEING A TREND TWO YEARS AGO. >> AND THEN THAT’S WHEN WE WENT TO TWO OTHER AGENCIES AND ASKED THEM IF THEY NOTICED A DECLINE IN DUI STATS, AND THEY ALSO STATED YES. GREG: IN ORANGE COUNTY, THERE WERE NEARLY 700 DUI ARRESTS IN 2014. LAST YEAR? LESS THAN 300, A DROP OF 57%. STATEWIDE, ALCOHOL-RELATED CRASHES ARE DOWN 8%, AND FATALITIES IN THOSE CRASHES ARE DOWN 26%. WHY? POLICE SAY RIDESHARE LIKE UBER AND LYFT HAVE LESS PEOPLE DRINKING AND DRIVING. BILL GORGOL IS AN UBER DRIVER. >> PEOPLE CHOOSING RIDE SHARING OVER DRINKING AND DRIVING, IS IT SAVING LIVES? >> I WOULD THINK, YEAH. FOR A $4 OR $5 UBER RIDE, IT’S WORTH IT. IT’S REALLY WORTH IT. GREG: MOST PEOPLE WOULD CELEBRATE AN APPARENT DECLINE IN DRUNK DRIVING ARRESTS, BUT IT’S HAVING A DRAMATIC EFFECT ON A LOCAL COURT PROGRAM THAT GIVES FIRST TIME OFFENDERS A SECOND CHANCE. FIRST TIME OFFENDERS IN ORANGE AND OSCEOLA COUNTIES CAN OPT FOR A DIVERSION PROGRAM. AGREE TO ATTEND VICTIM IMPACT CLASSES, DO COMMUNITY SERVIC , AND PAY A DONATION OF BETWEEN $500 AND $1,000 TO ONE OF SEVEN LOCAL NON-PROFIT AGENCIES. IN 2015, THOSE DONATIONS GENERATED MORE THAN $460,000. LAST YEAR? ABOUT $248,000, DOWN 47%. >> THIS COMMUNITY IS VERY LUCKY TO HAVE THE VSC. GREG: RACHEL SINES WAS RAPED AND ROBBED AND LATER RECOVERED WITH THE HELP OF THE VICTIM SERVICE CENTER. ITS PROGRAMS, A CRISIS HOTLINE, FORENSIC EXAMS, AND COUNSELING, HAS TAKEN THE BIGGEST FINANCIAL HIT FROM THE DECLINE IN DUI DONATIONS, EVEN LAYING OFF A STAFF MEMBER THIS YEAR. >> WITHOUT THEM, THERE WOULD NOT BE A CHANCE FOR VICTIMS TO GO ON THAT PATH OF HEALING AS QUICKLY AS I DID GREG: THEY MAY STRUGGLE TO MAKE UP THE SHORTFALL, BUT THEY’RE NOT COMPLAINING. >> FEWER DRUNK DRIVERS ON THE ROAD, THE FEWER PEOPLE THAT ARE VICTIMIZED THE FEWER PEOPLE COME THROUGH OUR DOOR. THAT IS A WONDERFUL PLACE FOR US TO BE. GREG: THE FLORIDA SAFETY COUNCIL, WHICH USES THE DUI DONATIONS TO FUND PROGRAMS FOR LOW INCOME, SENIOR, AND DISABLED CLIENTS, SAW A DROP OF NEARLY $10,000 LAST YEAR. >> WE DON’T HAVE ANY OTHER SOURCE OF DONATION THAT’S ANYWHERE NEAR AS SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME. GREG: IT’S A DILEMMA NON-PROFITS AS PEOPLE WHO DRINK

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