Suburban Police To Crack Down On Drunk Driving Through Twitter
RIVERSIDE, Ill. (CBS) -- Get caught driving drunk in Riverside, and your name and offense will end up in the Twitterverse.
"As soon as we arrest an individual and they bond off, we will release that information," said Police Chief Tom Weitzel.
Riverside Cops To Tweet DUI Arrests
Weitzel said social media is a powerful tool, and information about drunk driving arrests is public anyway. Twitter is just a new way to get it out there.
"Everything we are releasing is under the Freedom of Information Act. It's out there anyway," he said.
Weitzel said the tweets will start going out on Monday, and one drunk driving enforcement officer will be in charge of the account. He hopes this will make drivers think twice before drinking and getting behind the wheel.
Riverside police already made 117 DUI arrests so far this year. For a town of only 9,000, Weitzel said that's significant.
"For a small agency, out of those 117, we're seeing repeat offenders, people who have been arrested for the third and fourth time. It's about time we start publicizing that," he said.
