Since the beginning of spring term, UOPD has cited or arrested 15 people for DUII. That is equal to the number of DUIIs from winter term, and six more than fall term.
According to UOPD officer Adam Lillengreen, officers have been actively cracking down on impaired driving.
“Officers are more proactive in looking for DUII arrests just because there is such a safety issue associated with someone who is impaired and the harm they can cause students,” said Lillengreen.
Drunk driving has had a tragic impact on the university in the past. In 2007, a university student was hit and killed by a drunk driver at the intersection of East 15th Avenue and Hilyard Street.
The recent increase in arrests is at least partially due to an increase in officer training, according to Lillengreen.
All officers receive basic training on how to conduct field sobriety tests and use a breathalyzer. But according to Lillengreen, some UOPD officers have now gone through an advanced training program called Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE). ARIDE is a 16 hour classroom program that provides training for noticing signs of drug or alcohol impairment in an attempt to crack down on impaired drivers.
“A lot of our officers are now going through that training,” said Lillengreen. “Now that they have done it for awhile and they have had this additional training, they are more confident. They are seeing signs and indicators of impairment where they might not have seen them before.”
UOPD also received a grant of around $3,400 to enforce DUII laws from Oregon Impact, a non-profit organization that aims to end impaired driving by providing educational experiences.
“Now we can have officers who call in service and come on duty and the only thing they do is investigate DUIIs. They are paid for by the state and federal grant,” said Lillengreen.
The movement to more strictly enforce DUII laws was due to a few officers in 2014 and 2015 who recognized the negative impact DUIIs can have on the University of Oregon campus and community, Lillengreen said. This has led to an increase in total DUII arrests by the UOPD.
In 2016, the department made 52 DUII arrests total. As of May 17, 2017, UOPD had already made 32. If the pace continues, UOPD will make around 85 DUII arrests this year.
UOPD is also trying to educate the UO community of the dangers of impaired driving. Officers have visited local bars to practice field sobriety tests on volunteers. These visits also allow officers to inform those who are drinking of whether they are too impaired to drive and interact with the people they are sworn to protect and serve.
“We get people who are willing to participate and usually it is very popular,” said Lillengreen.
Another contributing factor to the increase in DUIIs throughout the year could be the changing weather in Eugene. The warmer weather during spring term usually means more parties and more drinking.
“From my experience here, usually the more get-togethers there are, the higher chance somebody is going to drive impaired,” Lillengreen said.
Follow Casey Crowley on Twitter @CaseyCrowley55 .