El Paso Police Call ‘No Refusal Program’ A Success

ELPASO– According to the El Paso Police, their “no refusal” program is already showing positive results in the fight against drunk driving.

The force stepped-up their patrols and initiated the program this weekend, prior to Monday night’s Saint Patrick’s Day festivities.

The “no refusal” program allows police to obtain a warrant to have a suspected drunk driver’s blood drawn if they refuse a breathalyzer test.

A nurse then takes a blood sample to determine the suspect’s blood alcohol level.

The El Paso Police Department told KVIA the number of drunk driving suspects who refuse to take a breathalyzer test has decreased since the program began in December.

The program is only used on specific days, like St. Patrick’s Day. El Paso Police said eight people were arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated Monday, another had blood drawn after refusing a breathalyzer.

“Where typically we see 50%, we only saw one person. So we did see less people refuse. That’s not scientific, we haven’t done it enough to see if those are (going to) be long-term results or not, but it’s a positive sign,” said EPPD spokesman Chris Mears.

The Las Cruces police department does not have the “no refusal program”, but they did arrest three people and charged them with driving while intoxicated Monday evening.