Pennsylvania's BUI/DUI joint task force pilot program: an innovative enforcement partnership approach.

While conducting a river boat patrol on a hot summer evening, two waterways conservation officers (WCOs) encountered a boat speeding toward several young swimmers. The officers directed the female operating the boat to slow down, but she ignored them. The officers turned their craft around, ran it alongside the female's boat, and turned on their emergency lights and siren. The woman continued to ignore the officers' approach. At that point, the WCOs physically took control of her boat and stopped it, still with no reaction from the subject. The smell of alcohol was evident, and the woman appeared to be in a stupor. When the officers placed her under arrest for boating under the influence (BUI), she immediately became combative, kicking, flailing her arms, and screaming obscenities. The officers managed to get the woman onto their boat and escorted her to the shore where they called for a local police transport to the WCOs' patrol car. As the officers attempted to get her off of their boat, she again became physically and verbally combative. Tests showed that the woman's blood alcohol content was four times over the legal limit, and a check of her criminal history revealed that she had a previous DUI conviction. She later pled guilty to BUI and simple assault charges.

THE PROBLEM

Each year, BUIs account for deaths, injuries, and property loss on waterways, many of which go unreported. Often, boaters do not realize that they face the same criminal punishment for a BUI as a DUI (driving under the influence). But, BUI enforcement is not limited to the state's waterways. For example, most boaters drive vehicles to and from their place of boating. Therefore, when boat operators consume alcoholic beverages or controlled substances while boating and then get into their motor vehicles to drive home, the BUI becomes a DUI. (1)

Alcoholic beverage manufacturers often market their products as a leisure activity related to fishing and boating. As a result, many people view consumption of alcoholic beverages as a routine activity while fishing or boating. Moreover, while DUI is not socially acceptable, some people do not perceive impaired boating to be of any serious consequence. The increased availability and use of controlled substances often occur during fishing or boating events due to the perception that individuals are unlikely to encounter law enforcement officers in, upon, or along waterways.

ONE AGENCY'S RESPONSE

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, an independent state agency, is funded solely by fishing license and boat registration revenue, and it employs approximately 100 WCOs, who actually are the "state police of the waterways." These officers protect public safety on Pennsylvania's waterways, which includes 83,261 miles of rivers and streams, over 205,000 acres of impoundments and lakes, as well as more than 63 miles of Lake Erie shoreline and 56 miles of the Delaware River. Presently, more than 350,000 of the registered boats in Pennsylvania, along with out-of-state registered boats, use these waterways.

Similar to Pennsylvania municipal police officers, WCOs are certified graduates of police academies. They attend the Fish and Boat Academy, which includes a 40-hour block of comprehensive BUI training, from the classroom to the water, and, finally, into mock trials with actual DUI defense attorneys and judges. This compares to an average of 6 hours of DUI training for municipal police officers. WCOs train for 1 year from their date of appointment, and experienced officers receive annual BUI update training.

Under the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Code, BUI is a criminal offense almost identical to the DUI section of the Pennsylvania motor vehicle code. A major part of the BUI law enforcement effort includes detecting, apprehending, and prosecuting boaters operating under the influence of alcohol and other drugs. Similar to the DUI section of this code, individuals convicted of BUI for the first time face a misdemeanor charge, which includes a fine of between $500 to $7,500, a jail sentence of at least 48 hours to 2 years, and a 1-year suspension of their boating privileges. To date, however, a BUI conviction does not affect a vehicle operator's license validity.

Funding issues

Unlike most state agencies, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission receives no general fund money for its operating budget. For the past several years, the commission has partnered with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), the Pennsylvania DUI Association, the National Safe Boating Council, the Pennsylvania Trauma Society, the Pennsylvania Traffic Institute for Police Services, and the Pennsylvania State Police to acquire more training and enforcement tools for WCOs. As their limited funding allows, MADD and the Pennsylvania DUI Association have provided prearrest breath-testing devices and video cameras to several officers. WCOs use video cameras on their patrol boats for BUI, as well as other, enforcement initiatives. The ability of WCOs to present videotape evidence of such dangerous boat operation significantly impacts the number of impaired boaters convicted for their crimes.

The Task Force

With the help of the Pennsylvania DUI Association, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's Bureau of Law Enforcement established a joint BUI/DUI task force pilot program. Task force members include the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's Bureau of Law Enforcement, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's (PDOT) Bureau of Highway Safety and Traffic Engineering, various county DUI program coordinators, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, the Bureau of Alcohol Education, and the Pennsylvania DUI Association. This cooperative, interagency, simultaneous, intensified patrol enforcement initiative on both land and water constituted the first of its kind on this scale in Pennsylvania. BUI enforcement is limited because of the small number of WCOs; they simply cannot detect all of the boaters under the influence. However, the joint task force concept (combining the concurrent under-the-influence enforcement of both land- and water-based officers) proposed to increase prosecutions for BUI and other related crimes. The task force has several objectives, such as--

* reducing the number and severity of DUI-and BUI-related crashes by maximizing law enforcement contacts with vehicle and boat operators at times and locations where a specific need for impaired operator enforcement emphasis has been identified;

* encouraging voluntary compliance with DUI, BUI, and other traffic- and boating-related laws by creating a perception of constant enforcement using roving patrols, safety blitzes, and sobriety checkpoints;

* maximizing the use of public information and news media coverage of scheduled enforcement activities, as well as the use of public safety messages on billboards, television, and radio;

* creating public and vehicle/ boat operators' awareness and concern for highway and waterway safety; and

* establishing and maintaining a cooperative effort between all law enforcement agencies and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's WCOs toward safer driving and boating.

During the 2001 boating season, the task force, funded primarily by federal highway safety grant monies, worked simultaneously on both the major boating pools of the Lower Susquehanna River and adjacent roadways to these areas to enhance BUI and DUI enforcement and, hopefully, to prevent BUI-and DUI-related crashes, injuries, and deaths. To announce its initiative at the start of the major boating season (just before the Memorial Day holiday weekend), the task force used the news media. For example, press releases about these joint enforcement patrols and their objectives preceded each event and, in some cases, subsequently announced the enforcement results in later releases.

WCOs received an under-the-influence classroom training session to bring them up-to-date on the latest case law and enforcement techniques. During this time, the task force invited television media to its command post locations, where administrators provided on-camera interviews and ensured that reporters acquired footage on the water from patrol boats to include with their news reports. In the future, the task force plans to have billboards that feature a picture of the local WCOs with the caption "We Hunt Drunk Boaters for a Living" strategically located next to roadways leading to major boating pools.

Results

Statistical data from PDOT's database from 1995 to 2002 illustrates that BUI is directly related to DUI vehicle crashes resulting in death or injury. This data clearly shows that the highest number of DUI crashes occur in municipalities that include major boating destination points and the roadways motorists use to drive to and from these points.

On the Harrisburg pool of the river, boaters can pull up to bars, acquire or consume alcoholic beverages, get back on their boats, and operate them while impaired. The popularity of this boating pool has grown as the recent addition of a second marina on City Island's east shore proves. PDOT statistics for Harrisburg show that from 1995 to 1999, 300 vehicle accidents occurred involving impaired drivers. During this time frame, three people were killed and 298 were injured, the highest numbers in the county.

The Goldsboro pool (home to the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant) has over 800 cottages located on its islands and shorelines, which constitutes a unique boating area. Alcoholic beverage and controlled substance consumption is prevalent on this section of the river and, accordingly, incidents of BUI and boating accidents are quite high. A bar also exists on this pool where boaters can pull up and get alcoholic beverages. PDOT statistics from 1995 to 1999 list this township (Londonderry) ninth in the county with 45 vehicle accidents involving impaired drivers. The roadway used to access this pool on the east shore had 43 impaired driver vehicle crashes, or 3.092 crashes per mile, according to other PDOT statistics for the same time period. The township on the west shore of that pool ranked seventh in its county for impaired driver vehicle crashes with a total of 95. Five people were killed and 96 injured. The roadways leading to these boating waters consistently generate the highest under-the-influence crash-related deaths and injuries compared with other roadways in their respective townships and counties.

Much planning and coordination within the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and between agencies must take place to ensure that these joint intensified roving patrols prove effective. For example, departments must schedule appropriate personnel, bring equipment, and maintain contact with the media.

Despite the best laid plans, boating law enforcement remains at the mercy of the weather and other limiting factors. For example, the commission canceled and rescheduled several details due to inclement weather. Of seven joint patrols ultimately executed, five took place on days when the weather simply was not prime boating weather (e.g., overcast, scorchingly hot, too chilly, or showers occurred at sunset, which is the best boating safety enforcement time of the day). Many boaters run without lights, which presents not only a serious safety violation and, therefore, excellent probable cause to conduct a boarding but also a prime time to detect and apprehend impaired operators.

Word of the increased presence of law enforcement spread quickly throughout the boating community. Many boaters used cell phones, VHF radios, and CB radio networks to warn other boaters. As a result, many would-be impaired boaters stayed on shore or anchored at a party hangout. All this notwithstanding, a deterrence factor exists that cannot be measured statistically.

The final results of seven details were impressive overall despite the limiting factors. The task force averaged 23 boardings per detail, totaling 162. Verbal warnings issued were almost the same--an average of 23 per detail with a total of 161. Written warnings averaged 2.25 per detail for a total of 16. The task force issued a total of 52 citations, an average of 7.4 per detail, tested seven impaired operators, and arrested two with blood alcohol content well over the legal limit. Police officers who participated in the roving patrols on nearby highways made arrests ranging from traffic summary violations to DUIs, underage drinking, and furnishing alcoholic beverages to minors.

The overall cooperation of the police and DUI coordinators with the WCOs proved successful. All personnel worked together to get a better understanding of what everyone does and how jobs dealing with impaired operation enforcement of both vehicles and watercraft overlap. For example, while on patrol boats, land-based police officers experienced the challenges to law enforcement on the water. Similarly, WCOs got exposure to the experience of seasoned police officers of ranks from patrolman to sergeants, and they learned how county DUI coordinators execute details.

Future goals

What is the future of this type of initiative? The answer depends on whether agencies receive grant monies to help fund the impaired boating aspect of this joint program.

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission hopes to gradually expand the joint enforcement concept between land- and water-based law enforcement agencies throughout the state. Resistance to this concept may be based on the belief that the Revised Highway Safety Act of 1996 does not include waterways in the definition of highways. To the contrary, waterways were the first highways, and transportation and commerce take place on them.

Conclusion

Individuals who operate their boats while impaired with alcohol and other drugs present a serious public safety concern. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission has developed an effective program to help detect, apprehend, and prosecute BUI offenders. Agencies can use the joint task force concept to help create intensified patrol enforcement on both water and land.

Agencies should try to convince their state and federal legislators that BUI and DUI are closely related, as statistical figures and common sense show. Law enforcement departments should request that Congress revise the Highway Safety Act to include watercraft to ensure the continuation of these joint efforts and to help fund these projects with highway safety grant monies. Intensified DUI roving patrols and checkpoints already have proven successful. Implementing them on roadways near major boating pools during peak boating season as boaters depart while waterways conservation officers conduct intensified roving patrols have resulted in an innovative and enhanced approach to under-the-influence enforcement. WCOs face different challenges than officers who patrol on land. But, cooperation between law enforcement agencies can reduce BUIs on water and DUIs on land.

Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission
Bureau of Law Enforcement

Boating Under the Influence Statistics, 1990-2002

Year                Number of Cases

2002                      70
2001                      54
2000                      36
1999                      39
1998                      38
1997                      46
1996                      41
1995                      50
1994                      31
1993                      25
1992                      15
1991                      34
1990                      22

Endnotes

(1) The author based this article on his 20 years of experience with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's Bureau of Law Enforcement.