Cell number created to report drunk drivers
McKinley County near top in DWI arrests and fatalities

By Jim Tiffin
Cibola County Bureau

GALLUP — A new four-digit cellular telephone number has been announced to report drunk drivers on roads and highways across the state and the Gallup Police and McKinley Sheriff's departments, as well as the Navajo Nation, have been awarded funds to hire full-time DWI law enforcement officers, said New Mexico DWI Czar Rachel O' Connor.

The initiative to allow cell phone users to call: #394 (#DWI) was announced Thursday and is designed to reduce death and injuries caused by drunk drivers.

The cell phone number connects the caller with state dispatchers. The program includes the cooperation of all cellular telephone providers in New Mexico, including, Alltel, Cingular, Cricket, Plateau, T-Mobile and Verison Wireless.

O' Connor said funding has been awarded to Gallup Police, McKinley County Sheriff's Department and the Navajo Nation in order to allow those agencies to hire, pay and equip full-time law enforcement officers whose sole duty is to enforce DWI laws.

"Currently, the state is sixth in fatalities per 100,000 people and eighth in fatalities per motor vehicle mile," O' Connor said.

Just last week, Gallup Police received $38,000 to provide police coverage for DWIs on "high incidence days," where more DWI accidents occur in Gallup, Wednesdays through Saturdays, she said.

The state has given $300,000 to the McKinley County Sheriff's Department to provide four full-time DWI deputies, she said.

"And, although $150,000 has been awarded to the Navajo Nation for two additional officers to enforce DWI laws, that contract is still going trough the Tribal Council," O' Connor said.

In the past few years arrests and fatalities have told the story in Gallup, which is of major concern to the state, she said.

Bernalillo County, which has about 1 million people, had 32 fatalities in 2006, and Gallup, which has 30,000 people, had 31 fatalities in 2006, she said.

Fatalities in McKinley County for the past several years are:

• 2005 — 29
  
• 2004 — 33
  
• 2003 — 21
  
• 2002 — 27

"One of the goals of funding these agencies for DWI officers is to reduce the number of deaths and injuries related to DWI accidents," O' Connor said.

DWI arrests for the past five years in McKinley County, compared to Cibola County are below.

A preliminary number of arrests in McKinley County for 2006 is 1,009. There are no statistics available yet for Cibola County for 2006, O' Connor said.

• 2005 — (Most recent official statistics available) McKinley: 938; Cibola: 396
  
• 2004 — McKinley: 1,503; Cibola: 443
  
• 2003 — McKinley: 1,222; Cibola: 559
  
• 2002 — McKinley: 1,065; Cibola: 276
  
• 2001 — McKinley: 1,297; Cibola: 357

O' Connor said the state is concerned about the dip in arrests in McKinley County because more arrests means less fatalities and injuries and with less arrests more accidents may occur resulting in more fatalities and injuries.

To contact reporter Jim Tiffin, call (505) 287-2197, or e-mail: jtiffin.independent@yahoo.com.