Outside of Chicago, the Aurora Police Department had the most DUI arrests of any Illinois police department in 2023, a study recently found.
The annual study by the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists, which was released last month, found that in 2023 the Aurora Police Department made 366 arrests of drivers who were under the influence of alcohol or drugs. That’s up over 12% from the previous year, the study showed.
Elgin was next on the list with 282 DUI arrests, the survey said.
Rounding out the top 10 were Bloomington, Decatur, Rockford, Lombard, Waukegan, Elmhurst, West Chicago and Addison.
With roughly 318 sworn officers, the Aurora Police Department had 1.15 DUI arrests per officer, the study said. However, the study found that DUI arrests were not so evenly distributed among all officers at the Aurora Police Department.
Officer Megan Scott had the most DUI arrests at 29, the study said. Officers Nicole Holland and Nathalia Pineda were next on the list with 23 and 12 DUI arrests respectively, according to the study.
Traffic offenses, including driving under the influence, appear to be a main concern of Aurora residents, according to the Aurora Police Department’s post-contact survey.
Survey data, which was recently released to the public through an online portal, shows that over 28% of people who responded were concerned about traffic offenses such as intoxicated driving and speeding, compared to the 22.6% that said they were concerned about theft and the 22.1% that said they were concerned about quality of life offenses like noise, littering or illegal parking.
Aurora Police Department officials have previously said they use this data to inform which types of crimes may receive more of a focus from the department.
In an interview last Friday, Aurora Community Oriented Policing Lt. Mike Corrigan said increased traffic enforcement, specifically with the goal of decreasing the number of crashes, was one of the department’s top three priorities for 2024, along with the reduction of violent crime and the increase of positive community engagements.
The department has already seen an increase in the number of traffic stops, citations issued and traffic details over last year, according to Corrigan. He said the department not only has a “concerted effort” on a daily basis across all three shifts to conduct traffic patrols, but it also takes a “multifaceted” approach to traffic enforcement.
That means collaborating with other police departments and law enforcement agencies as well as working with the department’s own critical intelligence unit to pull data from traffic cameras and license plate readers, he said.
On Feb. 23, Aurora and Naperville police departments collaborated on a one-day traffic enforcement push along Route 59, officials from the two departments previously said.
In just one day, officers from the two departments made a total of 94 stops, issued 99 citations and made four arrests for traffic violations that frequently lead to crashes or make crashes more dangerous, such as speeding or distracted driving, officials said.
Based on community feedback, the department’s major concern in traffic enforcement is speeding, Corrigan said. The Community Policing unit is working with other city departments like engineering to consider the way roads are built and the signs along them to ease these concerns, he said.
Examples of solutions may include making a road wider or narrower, adding a traffic circle or adding flashing lights warning of pedestrians, he said.
The Aurora community is also concerned about the number of traffic crashes in the city, according to Corrigan. He said the department believes a large portion of these crashes are due to distracted driving.
According to crime statistics on the department’s online open data portal, there have been over 3,800 crashes in Aurora so far in 2024. Of those crashes, just over a thousand caused an injury or left a car undriveable, the statistics show.
To combat distracted driving, Corrigan said the Aurora Police Department picks certain intersections, which change nearly weekly, to target for enforcement.
Sometimes patrol officers can spot people with “their faces in their phones” and pull them over, but other times officers will pull people over for other reasons, like speeding, and notice they are also driving distracted because of their phones, he said.
According to a July 24 Facebook post, street racing is another concern of the Aurora Police Department. The post said street racing can have severe consequences, and the department as well as other nearby police departments take reports of street racing seriously.
The warning came after an alleged street racing crash on July 13 at around 1 a.m. in the city left two people injured, officials said in the post.
One of the victims, a 25-year-old man, was recording a drag race along Sequoia Drive between a 2004 Chevy Corvette and another unknown vehicle, according to the police post. The man and the other victim were hit by the Corvette after it lost control, the post said.
The man recording the race was found lying on the ground at the scene of the incident with an apparent arm injury, officials said in the post. After he was taken to Ascension Mercy medical center in Aurora, he was also treated for spinal fractures and other injuries, according to the post.
Officials said in the post that the driver of the Corvette, Alexander Tuohy, was charged with aggravated reckless driving, street racing and several related traffic violations.
Aurora Police Department Chief Keith Cross said in the post that, regardless of what people see in popular movies, street racing is illegal and dangerous for participants, bystanders and the community.
According to Corrigan, street racing is not necessarily on the rise, but it has changed in recent years.
He said that, rather than two cars simply racing down the road, groups of car enthusiasts will now meet up to show off their cars in various ways, such as doing doughnuts, to those gathered and others on social media through video footage.
While the meetups themselves are not illegal, it is often the showing off that puts those attending these meetups and others in the community in danger, Corrigan said.
As the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists study shows, the Aurora Police Department is also invested in DUI enforcement. According to Corrigan, the department has regular DUI enforcement details that range from checkpoints to increased patrol officers looking just for those driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
He said the department often seeks out grants to help with DUI enforcement efforts.
Other nearby law enforcement agencies are also concerned about traffic safety and enforcement.
Throughout July, the sheriff’s offices of Kane and Kendall counties partnered with other local and state agencies to host a traffic safety campaign, according to news releases from the two sheriffs’ offices.
The Kane County Sheriff’s Office news release said its deputies issued a total of 58 speeding citations, issued four reckless driving citations, found three drivers with suspended or revoked licenses and found one uninsured motorist during the campaign.
The Kendall County Sheriff’s Office had significantly more stops, according to its news release.
Officials said in the release that deputies gave out a total of 365 speeding citations, 21 uninsured motorist citations, 13 suspended or revoked license citations and one child car seat citation. Three fugitives were also apprehended as a part of the traffic safety campaign, the release said.
Officials said in both releases that the campaign was supported by federal traffic safety funds administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation.
rsmith@chicagotribune.com