Posted on 05/03/2006 2:55:27 AM PDT by SirJohnBarleycorn
RALEIGH, N.C. -- WRAL has learned that 33 percent all drunken drivers arrested in Wake County are Hispanic, although the latest census numbers indicate that Hispanics make up only 7 percent of Wake County's population.
This past weekend in Wake County, 69 people were arrested and charged with DWIs. Twenty-three of those drivers were Hispanic. While DWI is the most common charge, many of those charged with that face additional charges, such as driving without a valid license. People on both sides of this issue say more education is the key to helping solve this problem.
We've known for some time that the Hispanic population is overrepresented in DWI arrests and DWI collisions, said Lt. Everett Clendenin with the North Carolina Highway Patrol.
The Highway Patrol says that while Hispanics make up roughly 7 percent of the state's population, they make up more than 17 percent of the patrol's DWI arrests and are involved in 15 percent of their alcohol-related crashes.
In Mexico and other Latin communities, traffic laws are not taken as seriously as they are here in North Carolina and also in our nation, said Clendenin.
I definitely don't want the police targeting me based upon how I look, and I don't want them targeting me because I came out of a certain store or nightclub, said defense attorney Ricardo Velasquez.
Velasquez said he believes racial profiling has something to do with the high numbers, but the statistics appear to be too high and too consistent to simply be the result of selective enforcement. And Velasquez agrees that his clients do not always understand the laws and their severity.
I think that there needs to be more education in that area, he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at wral.com ...
After all, they were quite effective into turning 20 year olds into criminals for drinking a beer.
bttt
Doing the DWIs that Americans won't do.
Perhaps the census is wrong. ;)
Somewhere in there must be a perfect punchline to be delivered by that "git 'er done" comedian dude. "Come on, folks, we're not carrying our share of DWIs!"
In Mexico and other Latin communities, traffic laws are not taken as seriously as they are here in North Carolina and also in our nation, said Clendenin.
Mas Tequila!
Feliz Cinco De Mayo!!
Both sides of this issue? Would that be both the Pro-Drunk-Driving side and the Anti-Drunk-Driving side?
It's been a while since the Pro-Drunk-Driving lobby has been making any noise in this country. 'Bout time their voices were heard!
I seriously doubt this unvalidated statement. What is "both sides"? Who should be 'educated'? What should they be taught? Are we talking about educating cops not to 'profile'? I don't know what side the paper would say I am on, but I would say deportation is the 'key' to this problem.
Obviously the arresting officers are racist...
Gee, does that apply to the crash stats, too?
They use one weekend worth of statistics and conclude that 33% of DWIs are hispanic? That's just dumb.
Let's see. So much to do. Outlaw drinking, but only arrest American citizens. We've already outlawed racial profiling, but it looks as if implementing that will take time. Meanwhile, allow Hispanics to drink and drive, commit mayhem, whatever...since they don't really understand the law and the severity of what they're doing. (Get used to it. It's cultural, and we'll see a lot more of this.)
Nope "education" is always "the key". (Or at least "money for education".)
(After all, 40 years of ever-escalating and increasingly graphic sex education has certainly put an end to teen pregnancies and STD's.)
Whatever the number is for longer-term statistics, from this remark it is clearly disproportionately high.
"LAWS, We don't need no stinking laws!"
Obviously it is due to racial profiling. Tagline...
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