According to today’s Star Tribune, the preliminary numbers from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety show that 84 more drivers were arrested for DWI this year than last year. In 2013, 2,453 people were arrested for DWI over the Holidays but 2014 saw an increase to 2,537 DWI arrests for the same time period. The… Read more »
Minnesota A Leader In Reducing Traffic Deaths
According to today’s Minnesota Star Tribune, Minnesota has emerged as a leader in reducing traffic fatalities. In fact, Minnesota now only ranks behind Massachusetts for having the lowest fatality rate in the nation. In an 18-year period starting in 1994, Minnesota cut its traffic fatality rate by more than half. Traffic fatalities in Minnesota decreased… Read more »
2015 Changes To The Minnesota Expungement Law
Do you want to erase your criminal conviction? As of January 1, 2015, it became much easier to expunge or “seal” criminal arrest or conviction records. Previously, judges in most cases could only seal the court records pertaining to a crime as they had no inherent authority to expunge the records held by the various police… Read more »
Extra DWI Patrols Over the Holidays!
On November 26th, law enforcement officers started a “DWI Enforcement and Awareness Campaign”. The campaign was timed to start the Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving as the State Patrol claims it is one of the “biggest drunk driving days” of the year. The campaign is a state-wide multi-agency effort and it will run every weekend through December 27, 2014…. Read more »
Drunk Driver Faces 10 Years In Prison
The Minnesota Star Tribune reported today that Michael Vanwager pled guilty on Monday, in Hennepin County District, to criminal vehicular homicide. On July 22, 2014, Vanwager hit another vehicle and stopped at the scene. But instead of exchanging information with the woman whose vehicle he hit, Vanwager took off and sped away at a high… Read more »
Nine Out Of Ten Heavy Drinkers Are Not Alcoholics
According to an article published today in the New York Times, most people who drink to excess are not alcoholics. A government survey of 138,100 adults showed that 90% of people who drink to much are not addicts and “can change their behavior with a little–or perhaps a lot of–prompting”. Twenty-Nine percent of the population… Read more »
Minnesota DWI Courts Reduce Recidivism Among Chronic DWI Offenders
Minnesota has DWI speciality courts in 16 of its 87 counties and in a two year study, funded with a $500,000 grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, it was found that the re-arrest rates for those individuals completing the Minnesota DWI Court program was dramatically less than for those individuals who went through the… Read more »
DEA Sued over Strategies that May have been Used in Twin Cities
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has been sued after it set up a fake Facebook account using personal information and photographs that it took from the smartphone of a woman who was arrested in a cocaine case. According to an article published by NBC news’ website, the hope of the DEA was to trick her… Read more »
Driver Hits St. Paul Fire Station and is Charged with DUI
A woman has been cited in St. Paul for driving while impaired after police say she crashed into a St. Paul fire station. As reported by the St. Paul Pioneer Press, there were no injuries in the accident, though the West Seventeenth Street station sustained damage. The woman told police that she was driving west… Read more »
8 People Indicted after Accusations of Bringing Heroin to Minneapolis
A grand jury has indicted eight people on charges of conspiracy to distribute heroin in Minneapolis. These individuals are believed to be part of a drug ring that is known as “The Crew,” according to federal prosecutors. The Associated Press reports the eight individuals are believed to have brought heroin from Chicago to Minneapolis, selling… Read more »