Although the initial period for Brown County’s no refusal DWI program has ended, the results have made it worth keeping around for a while.
This program began on October 15th 2009 and was geared towards cracking down on DWI cases in Brown County with the Texas DPS, Brownwood & Early Police Departments, and the Brown County Sheriff’s Department all participating.
The results of the initial program which ended on January 15th show that alcohol & drug related vehicle accidents dropped 83% overall in the county as compared to the same time period one year ago. DPS Sergeant Jason Shea said that in the 3 month period, there were only 7 alcohol or drug related accidents reported from all local law enforcement agencies. The same time period the year before saw 32 accidents.
During this year’s no refusal program, all local law enforcement agencies reported a total 51 DWI arrests and 13 drug search warrants issued.
Shea says that with its success , they plan to continue the program in Brown County indefinitely.
In this program, if someone is stopped for suspected DWI and refuses to take a breath test or blood test, the officer will seek a court order to take a blood sample with a judges’ signature. This blood search warrant will allow the seizure of a blood sample to determine if the suspect is legally intoxicated
