An Alco-Sensor Field Sobriety tester is seen at the Centralia Police Department.
When the Centralia Police Department launched its 24/7 Sobriety Program on March 17, 2014, it had two participants.
“One of them did very well and successfully completed the program,” said Centralia Police Commander James Rich said. “The other was a polar opposite and I still have arrest warrants out for him.”
Now, 24 people are enrolled in the 24/7 program. Six people have graduated, Rich said. Three have been non-compliant with the program, and warrants have been issued for their arrests.
Centralia’s program has more participants than others in the state.
Rich, who coordinates the program for the Centralia Police Department, said it may be too early to judge the program based on pure data. Anecdotally, however, he said the program has been successful.
“I think this is one of the first programs I’ve seen in 30 years … that’s taking a proactive approach,” he said.
Taking away a repeat drunken driver’s license or car, or installing an ignition interlock, might stop someone from getting behind the wheel after a few drinks, he said, but the 24/7 Sobriety Program does more.
“None of those things are addressing the problem of keeping people sober,” he said.
To qualify for the sentencing alternative, participants must have two or more DUIs. They are assigned to the program as a condition of their release from jail on bail, or as a part of sentencing after a conviction for DUI.
Judges can assign DUI offenders to the program for 30 to 90 days before their trial, and for up to six months after a conviction, said Bruce Bjork, 24/7 program coordinator for the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs
“The whole goal of the program is to attempt to do some behavior modification to reduce recidivism and to reduce alcohol related collisions and to essentially make the jurisdiction safer,” he said. “I would say yes, it is working, particularly when you start hearing from participants.”
The 24/7 effort began as a state pilot program in 2013 with three counties and two cities participating. Centralia, Thurston County and Clallam County are the only current participants.
“We’re relatively early into this program within the state of Washington,” Bjork said. “We’ve only had about 50 participants in the three pilots. Centralia has had the largest number of participants and they have the most active program. I’m very pleased with Centralia.”
Participants check in at the Centralia Police Department twice daily — between 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m., and again 12 hours later — for breath tests to measure their blood alcohol content
For a first violation, the participant gets a written warning. Violations include blood-alcohol levels of .02 or higher. The legal limit for driving is .08.
For a second violation, the participant automatically gets two days in jail. They get five days for a third violation, 10 days for a fourth, and serve the remainder of their sentence after a fifth violation.
Often, the written warning is enough to ensure further compliance, Rich said.
“We’re getting their attention. It’s working,” he said.
If a participant tests at more than .02 BAC, they wait 15 minutes and test again, just to be sure. After testing positive for alcohol, they are immediately arrested if it’s the second violation.
“One of the key functions of this program is if you drink, you go to jail,” Rich said. “It’s that immediacy that serves as the deterrent.”
The police department uses twice-daily breath tests at its downtown Centralia location for most participants, but this isn’t the only way to ensure compliance, Rich said.
One participant can’t travel into Centralia at the appointed times, and uses a SOBERLINK system, a portable BAC breath test that records her GPS and blood-alcohol-level and takes a picture, all of which are uploaded to an Internet-based tracking system accessible by the Centralia Police Department.
“We’ve been trying to be flexible,” Rich said.
The police department has chosen not to use ankle bracelets equipped to measure alcohol levels through the skin. While the ankle bracelet option doesn’t require participants to travel to the police station every day for a breath test, it has its drawbacks, Rich said.
“It doesn’t give you that immediate feedback,” he said. “To me, one of the highlights of the program is you have immediate verification of compliance or non-compliance.”
The program doesn’t cost the city of Centralia any money, Rich said.
Each person in the program pays a $30 registration fee and $2 per test, or $4 per day, to support the costs of their monitoring. Participants using the SOBERLINK system pay $10.50 per day to cover additional costs associated with the system, including rental of the equipment.
“It’s basically self-sustaining,” Rich said.
In comparison, it would cost the city $50 per day to house inmates at the Lewis County Jail.
“That is quite a savings,” Rich said.
Feedback from jurisdictions participating in the program helped influence House Bill 1276, regarding impaired driving, which passed the state Legislature this month, Bjork said.
More importantly, Rich said the program, for some participants, is changing long-held behavior patterns. Some participants have been able to keep jobs, save money and get their lives back on track.
“People are realizing there is some advantage to staying sober,” he said. “Do I think that this is going to work for all 30 people? No. But it will work for a few.”
