Affluent Neighborhoods See Rise in DWI Arrests

Arrests on charges of driving while intoxicated have risen sharply this year in some of the city's most affluent neighborhoods, including the Upper East Side, the Upper West Side, and Brooklyn Heights, according to police department statistics.

Compared with the same period last year, arrests on the Upper West Side have more than doubled, rising to 41 from 17; nearly doubled in Brooklyn Heights, to 45 from 23, and jumped by about 70%, to 47 from 28, in the 19th Precinct, which encompasses most of the Upper East Side, according to the statistics.

Some experts see the rise in drunken-driving arrests as a direct result of the dramatic overall drop in crime the city has witnessed in recent years. In the past six years, DWI arrests have risen by about 123% citywide, according to the statistics.

"A lot of these cops are bored," a former prosecutor in the Bronx district attorney's office who now has a private practice that includes defending the accused in drunken driving cases, Michael Discioarro, said. With large coalitions lobbying politicians to tighten the reins on drunken drivers, the effect is trickling down to police departments, Mr. Discioarro said.

A spokesman for the police department, Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne, said the department has made drunk driving enforcement a priority in recent years. "It's a serious issue because the fatalities aren't limited to the driver," he said.

One reason for the spike in arrests may be Mayor Bloomberg's focus on livability in the city, placing more pressure on the police to diligently enforce traffic laws, a police department expert, Eugene O'Donnel, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said. "They're making traffic more of an issue," he said. "Traffic is the gateway to stopping larger crime like drinking and driving."

According to Mr. Browne, drunken-driving arrests are often as a result of sting operations, which are set up when precinct commanders receive complaints from the community about intoxicated individuals leaving specific clubs or bars at closing time.

Mr. Discioarro suggested that arrests for drunk driving often occur in bunches, especially after a tragic death involving alcohol.

Many of his clients, who range from construction workers to CEOs of large companies, are first-time offenders, he added. "My clients aren't hardened criminals; for the cops, its like shooting fish in a barrel," he said.

While police officers are paying more attention to drunken drivers, Mr. Browne allowed that the statistics for the arrests could be misleading. Because the base number of arrests is such a low number, the percentages can fluctuate greatly from year to year, he said.