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TO: Mayor Richard C. Irvin
FROM: Kristen Ziman, Chief of Police
DATE: August 3, 2017
SUBJECT:
A resolution authorizing the hire of a private law firm to prosecute Driving Under the Influence (DUI) offenses locally.
PURPOSE:
DUI offenses are currently prosecuted by County State’s Attorney’s Office's. The Aurora Police Department is seeking to decrease costs associated with court overtime, augment officer training opportunities and increase public safety by utilizing a private law firm to provide prosecution services for locally charged DUI’s and accompanying traffic citations.
BACKGROUND:
The costs associated with prosecution of DUI offenses and accompanying traffic citations has created a unique problem for municipalities. The amount of overtime associated with these types of cases is costly as it is not uncommon for them to be continued over a long period of time, taking officers off of the street at expense (financially and public-safety wise) of the municipality.
For example: Assume a minimum of eight (8) hours of overtime per two (2) officers on two (2) court appearances for a DUI arrest. Hypothetically speaking, if officer(s) make $30.00 per hour, and there are two (2) officers appearing in court, for two (2) court appearances, the cost is a minimum of approximately $480.00 per arrest on officer payroll and/or overtime. Based upon Aurora's 2016 numbers, utilizing a private firm to prosecute non-felony DUI’s would save approximately $112,320.00 in payroll and/or overtime costs.
Additionally, these types of cases call for a high level of precision for police officers, creating a training challenge for police departments. A solution adopted by a number of neighboring cities has been to contract with a private law firm to provide prosecution services for locally charged DUI’s.
By reducing, if not eliminating, the need for officers to be in Court, the city will be in a better position to manage our officers’ time on the street and reduce costs by saving on unnecessary overtime. In addition, the firm provides monthly DUI training to increase competency in the field of DUI enforcement. The consequence is increased public safety.
DISCUSSION:
The immediate benefit of local prosecution to Aurora is a consistent, mainstreamed process managed by our prosecutors, and overseen by one Judge. In addition, having a law office prosecute DUI’s would eliminate the need for officers to attend DUI court in DuPage, Will, or Kendall Counties.
In addition, aggressive police detection and apprehension of DUI drivers makes communities safer by eliminating risks posed by impaired drivers - individually and generally. On the individual level, each DUI driver taken off of the street is prevented from causing a serious or potentially fatal crash. Generally, with more aggressive police enforcement there is an increased perception of “the risk of getting caught.” In theory, the fear of getting caught ultimately reduces the number of impaired drivers.
In Kane County alone, the following municipalities have adopted a local ordinance for DUI enforcement:
• Campton Hills
• Carpentersville
• Elgin
• Geneva
• Sleepy Hollow
• South Elgin
• St. Charles
The proposed contract will run for three years (2017 - 2020). In order to provide ample time for training of how to best manage DUI’s, the Attorney's (Kim DiGiovanni and Associates) will provide three months free of charge to Aurora Officer’s for the 2017 year, which will result in only one payment this year. Funds are available in 101-3536-421-32.20.
IMPACT STATEMENT:
The impact to approving this contract are:
• Cost savings by eliminating multiple court appearances.
• Relevant DUI training for officers on a monthly basis to increase competency in DUI enforcement.
• Fees associated with a private law firm will be redeemed through the process.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
I respectfully request this contract be forwarded to the Tuesday, August 15th Committee of the Whole Meeting for a full Council Discussion.
cc: Alderman O’Connor, Chairman
Alderman Mesiacos
Alderman Bugg
Alderman Mervine, Alternate
CITY OF AURORA, ILLINOIS
RESOLUTION NO. _________
DATE OF PASSAGE ________________
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A Resolution Seeking Approval for Municipal Driving Under the Influence (DUI) Prosecution Process Services by the Law Offices of Kimberly M. DiGiovanni LTD.
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WHEREAS, the City of Aurora has a population of more than 25,000 persons and is, therefore, a home rule unit under subsection (a) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution of 1970; and
WHEREAS, subject to said Section, a home rule unit may exercise any power and perform any function pertaining to its government and affairs for the protection of the public health, safety, morals, and welfare; and
WHEREAS, utilizing the current city ordinance for prosecuting DUI cases will save the City of Aurora in overtime resulting in court appearances; and
WHEREAS, the prosecuting attorneys shall provide two (2) training sessions per month to the Aurora Police Department thereby increasing the competency of officers to enforce DUI ordinances resulting in increased public safety.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Aurora, Illinois, as follows: hereby approves the Legal Service Agreement for Municipal DUI Prosecution between the City of Aurora and the Law Offices of Kimberly M. DiGiovanni, LTD for the period of September of 2017 through August of 2020.