The Houston Police Department has played a critical role in the ongoing success of the "No Refusal Holiday" DWI process in Harris County. See "The Texas Prosecutor" Volume 37, Number 5 (September-October 2007) for details.

Currently, the program has obtained approximately 100 search warrants to date and resulted in an almost 75% breath test compliance rate on "No Refusal holidays" and an average BAC (blood) of 0.20 on those that we obtained blood samples from (compared to 0.17 breath alcohol content for those that consented). That's very good news for prosecutors, the police, and civilians who are assured that solid evidence is used against these highly impaired individuals. Its also good news for suspects because 3 of them were under 0.08 BAC and had their cases dismissed. Other agencies that have implemented this program have achieved similar results. In Harris County, these procedures have resulted in increased judicial economy with almost all of the cases being disposed of through plea. Only two cases are currently set for a contested hearing or trial. Although the program seems to be increasing in use around the state and nation, there is still work to be done.

One program HPD has come up with is a new and interesting idea to bring awareness to the dangers of impaired driving in Texas and in our county. The agency tracks the cases as they wind through the system and upon a conviction, the offender's court information and photo are published on the website. The website is available for public inspection. It is still undergoing a "tweaking" process, but here is the link to HPD's DWI website and data on some of the "No Refusal Holiday" suspects:

http://www.houstontx.gov/police/fatality_crash_reduction/misdemeanor.htm