(Shoshoni, WY) – Preliminary statistics indicate Fremont County has recorded a 20 percent decrease in drunken driving-related fatalities and crashes since the local DUI Task Force formed last year, Shoshoni Police Department Chief Chris Konija shared this week.
“The effects are pronounced,” he told the Shoshoni Town Council during a regular meeting Tuesday. “It’s been hugely successful, and I just am very appreciative of all the officers that have (been) working extra shifts and working extra time to make this possible. … We all came together and made that happen.”
The DUI team, which includes officers from Lander, Riverton, Shoshoni, and the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, conducted 20 operations in the last fiscal year, Konija said.
During operations in Riverton, he said call volumes in that jurisdiction decreased by 57 percent on average, while operations in Lander resulted in a 76 percent average decrease in calls in that city and Shoshoni recorded a 100 percent decrease in calls during operations in its jurisdiction.
Overall, Konija said the county experienced a 62 percent reduction in calls during DUI Task Force operations, based on the preliminary numbers.
“Once I get a full report, I’ll provide that to the council,” he said.
Local law enforcement officials are also planning to present their findings to the state in December, Konija said, noting that Fremont County was the “first in the state” to form a multi-disciplinary DUI Task Force at the local level.
The idea has since spread to other counties that have used the local “template” to form their own teams, he said.
The model should help law enforcement agencies address issues with recruitment and retention, Konija added.
“(That’s) kind of the precursor to why this is important, why it’s effective, and why all of the agencies and all the officers and deputies within those agencies have come together to make this successful,” he said. “It’s more important now than ever for us to work together and not independently of each other, given the dynamic that we’re facing – not just in the state, but nationwide.”