a shift in HPD DIP policy?
Posted by Brent Finnegan on March 17th, 2007
A follow-up on the previous posts about the FAR program and alcohol in H’burg…
I heard from a reliable source that the HPD may soon be cutting back on arresting people for being drunk in public as frequently as they have been. Allegedly, the emphasis is being taken off handing out DIP citations to everyone walking home intoxicated, and refocused on public safety.
While this may be encouraging news for local bar patrons (if this policy shift is actually put into effect) it doesn’t mean they’ve stopped arresting people. If someone is falling down drunk, they’ll likely be hauled in. Or a drunk girl walking home with two semi-sober guys may still be arrested if the officer thinks her safety is in danger.
DIPs never made much sense to me. It seems to send the message: alcohol is legal, but drinking it is not. There are many alternate charges (disturbing the peace, indecent exposure, etc) which can be used to discourage behavior sometimes associated with being drunk in public. But walking home instead of driving seems, at worst, the lesser of two evils.
The BACmaster mentioned in the previous post is set to make its debut at a public demonstration at the Artful Dodger on April 11th, with the city’s most famous bar patron, Mayor Eagle in attendance.
-finnegan
I hope Harrisonburg really is reexamining what the spirit of the DIP law is and how their enforcement has strayed from it. I have heard people argue that they would rather drive home drunk, and only be at risk of arrest for 5 minuets, than be responsible, walk, and be exposed for 20 minuets. Lots of things wrong with the statement but so is arresting a drunk guy who leaves his car and walks home for stumbling when he would have been swerving.
I believe a policy that looks at the threat a person poses to themselves or the community instead of a black or white question of “are they drunk or not,” would go a long way to promoting safer streets. It might also cool the common accusation that city cops pick up harmless drunks as a method of gaining revenue and keeping the uber expensive ASAP program full.
Isn’t the Artful Dodger a gay bar?
Dead on, Tim.
No, Myron. Harrisonburg has no gay bar. But I like that people think that.
OK, I give up…why do you like that people think Artful Dodger is a gay bar? I’m new here, so forgive me if I seem ignorant.
I don’t know. I guess that was a kind of elitist statement. Forgive me. I guess I meant that it keeps certain types of people from ever coming inside. I can assure you, it’s not a gay bar, though.