NEWS RELEASE

RIVERSIDE POLICE DEPARTMENT

31 Riverside Road, Riverside, Illinois 60546

27 January 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Chief Tom Weitzel

708 447 2127 tweitzel@riverside.il.us

Riverside Police Release 2015 DUI Stats

Think DUI and DUI drugs are actually decreasing? Wrong

Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel released his 2015 DUI stats as it relates to the
tracking and mechanisms they capture throughout the year. As you can see from this
report, there were 129 DUI arrests made in Riverside in 2015. Considering that Riverside
is a community of 9,000 residents, this represents a significant amount of DUI arrests
made. For the first time ever, police are starting to see more and more drugged driving
arrests. These drugged driving arrests are more complicated, take more time and many
times, require hospital trips for urine and blood draws.
Chief Weitzel stated, People keep telling me that the alcohol and DUI drug arrests are
going down nationwide. I will tell you that if that is the fact, they certainly are not going
down in the metropolitan Chicago area. As demonstrated by our 2015 statistics, my
officers could make a DUI, drug or alcohol arrest every single night. Drunk driving arrests
cross all age barriers including the youngest arrest by Riverside of a 17 year old and the
oldest male adult was 77
The most egregious DUI arrest that happened in 2015 was when Cynthia Grosse, 66 of
Lyons struck a 8-year-old boy riding his bike in front of his home in Riverside on a
residential street. This arrest took place at 5:00 p.m. in the afternoon on a warm sunny
September day. The disposition on this case is still pending as it is working its way
through the court system.

2015 Stats
2015 DUI ACTIVITIES

Percent of
total arrests

DUI Arrests (2015)

129

Male

91

70.5%

Female

38

29.4%

Took Breath Test

61

47.2%

Refused Breath Test

63

48.8%

Highest blow (BAC)

.286

3 times legal
limit

Night time arrest (after 6 PM)

125

96.8%

Daytime arrest

3.1%

DUI drug arrest (may also be in combination w/DUI alcohol

arrest)

13

10.2%

DUI w/crash

5.4%

Felony DUI arrest (represents repeat offender/arrest)

6.9%

Drug Recognition Expert Evaluations (Riverside Arrests)

3.8%

Drug Recognition Expert Evaluations (Assisting Other

Agencies)

.77%

Oldest (age) arrest

77

Youngest (age) arrest

17