Tag: Hillsborough DUI

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Tampa Bay DUI Convictions and Dismissals by the Numbers

W F Casey Ebsary Jr

Hillsborough DUI Conviction Rate

“Hillsborough County has the highest conviction rate”

Recently obtained statistics for conviction of driving under the influence in the major counties in the Tampa Bay area. We considered Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties.
 
We thought we would ask three questions:
 
  • First, which county has the highest conviction rate?
  • Second, which county has the most DUI charges in the Bay Area?
  • Third, which county dismissed the most DUI charges?
Hillsborough DUI Conviction Rate

Which Tampa Bay Area county has the highest conviction rate?

As for which county has the highest conviction rate. In an election year, this is an important statistic. Hillsborough County has a hotly contested race for the state attorney’s office and has the highest DUI conviction rate at 79.6%. Pinellas County’s DUI conviction rate was very close at 79.3%. Pasco County brought up the rear with only a 62.1% conviction rate.
 

 

Which county has the most DUI charges?

Which county has the most DUI charges in the Tampa Bay Area?

 
Hillsborough County had the highest number of DUI charges in 2015 with 4,111 charges.  The Florida Highway Patrol had 652 charges in Hillsborough County. The Hillsborough County local police departments had 1722 and the Sheriff’s Office had 1731 .
 
Second in the number of bay area criminal cases for DUI was Pinellas County which had 3355 DUI charges.  The total number of DUI charges for the Three Counties in this study was 8623.
 

In The Tampa Bay Area Which County Dismissed The Most DUI charges?

 
Pasco County Florida dismissed the most DUI charges. Nearly 1 in every 10 charges are dismissed. There was an average conviction rate of 77.15% for drivers charged with driving under the influence in the three counties we studied.
 
So on average, the odds of getting a DUI charge dismissed or reduced to a lesser charge is about one in four. We have included the raw data for you to study. That is available at this link for the Tampa Bay DUI statistics. We have also included a summary in the chart below.
 
What are your thoughts on conviction rates for DUI in the Tampa Bay area?  
 
“the odds of getting a DUI charge dismissed or  reduced to a lesser charge is about one in four”
 

Here are the data we used to calculate Tampa Bay DUI Convictions by the Numbers. The source of the data was https://services.flhsmv.gov/SpecialtyPlates/UniformTrafficCitationReport

Summary of Data in Tampa Bay DUI Convictions by the Numbers Study

County Population DUI 
Charges		 DUI
per
capita		 Dismissed
DUI
Charges		 Percent
charges dismissed		 Convictions Conviction
Rate
Hillsborough   1,325,563 4111 0.31% 90 2.19% 3273 79.62%
Pasco      487,588 1157 0.24% 111 9.59% 719 62.14%
Pinellas      944,971 3355 0.36% 25 0.75% 2661 79.31%
Tri-County Total   2,758,122 8623 0.31% 226 2.62% 6653 77.15%
 

Complete Data Used in this Driving Under the Influence Study

Complete Data Used in this Driving Under the Influence Study

To estimate your Breath Alcohol Concentration, use this.

1st Time DUI, Commercial DUI, Underage DUI

First-Time DUI Diversion

W F Casey Ebsary Jr

Why Start New First-Time DUI Diversion (RIDR)?

New First-Time DUI DiversionHillsborough County has consistently been ranked the worst or near the worst in Florida for DUI crashes, injuries, and fatalities. Given the dangers of impaired driving and the importance of reducing recidivism to promote long-term Community safety, the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office has established the reducing impaired driving recidivism initiative. The program seeks to aggressively target and reduce impaired driving by imposing enhanced sanctions like alcohol monitoring devices and DUI education programs on first-time, non-aggravated DUI offenders. This First-Time DUI Diversion program also promotes consistency in the prosecution of DUI cases by eliminating the incentive for offenders to refuse to provide a breath sample during the investigation.

Who Is Eligible for First-Time DUI Diversion Program?

To be eligible for the First-Time DUI Diversion program, first, the case must be a misdemeanor DUI. There can be no children in the vehicle. Also, the breath alcohol concentration must be below .200% and there cannot have been a crash. Additionally, there cannot be a prior DUI alcohol-related reckless driving, driving while license suspended with serious bodily injury or death, leaving the scene of an accident with injury or death, or vehicular homicide charges in the driver’s past. Finally, there cannot have been a prior DUI diversion program, more than one non-DUI diversion program as an adult, or in the five years prior to the date of offense the driver cannot have had a prior adjudication withhold or any portion of a sentence on a felony.

What Is The Process For Selecting Cases In This DUI Diversion Program?

The state attorney’s office will evaluate all cases on an individual fact-specific basis. The state attorney’s office solely determines the individual’s eligibility for the RIDR First-Time DUI Diversion Program. There will be three sanction levels for eligible cases. Level one cases will have a breath level below .15%. Next, Level two will have breath alcohol levels above .15% but less than .20% or there has been a refusal to provide. Last, Level 3 will be for drug-related DUIs.

Why Would Someone Want To Accept A Plea Offer Under The New DUI Program?

Mainly the driver will be offered a reduced charge of reckless driving and withhold adjudication. There will be 12 months probation. Individual must pay standard court costs and cost of supervision. They will have their vehicle immobilized for 10 days. The first-time DUI offender cannot possess or consume alcohol, illegal drugs, or non prescribed drugs during that 12 month period. Also, the offender must successfully complete the DUI school and any recommended treatment.
1st Time DUI, Breath Test Over 08

Reducing Impaired Driving Recidivism – Established DUI Diversion

W F Casey Ebsary Jr

DUI Diversion Program

Established DUI Diversion Programs
Established DUI Diversion Programs in 8th, 9th, 11th, 13th Circuit Courts

The Office of the State Attorney, 13th Judicial Circuit just developed their own DUI Diversion Program. Therefore, we will look at some of Florida’s already established DUI diversion programs. The 8th, 9th, 11th & 15th Circuit Courts all use DUI Diversion for a driver’s first DUI charge. Furthermore, each Circuit Court has different admission rules and distinct program requirements. Update: This Hillsborough County program started March 1, 2018. You can read about what the state’s attorney is looking for, what you might need to know, who is eligible and why you might want to be a part of this program.

Admission Requirements Are Confusing

First of all, some of the confusion of this process is shown below. Since each county has developed their program independently, the demands on the DUI driver differ. Therefore for help, call (813) 222-2220. In Orange and Osceola Counties, only legal U.S. residents can join the DUI Diversion Program. As a result, a tourist, a foreign national or someone on an F1 student visa charged with a DUI could never enter the DUI Diversion program in the Ninth Circuit Court. In Miami-Dade County, there is no upper limit on your breath alcohol concentration (BAC) to make you ineligible. But that same county requires that you sign a statement of guilt before entering. Three of the Circuit Courts (8th, 11th, and 15th) will refuse your admission if a child or animal was with you in the vehicle at the time of the charge. Another difference is that only the 8th Circuit Court will use drunken aggression as a reason to deny your access to the program.

 

Admission Qualifications of Established DUI Diversion Programs in Florida By County

1st Time DUI, Expert Attorney WF Casey Ebsary Jr

Reducing Impaired Driving Recidivism – RIDR

W F Casey Ebsary Jr

Reducing Impaired Driving Recidivism - RIDR
RIDR A New Hillsborough County DUI Initiative

We just found out from Rena J. Frazier, Chief of Policy and Communication in the Office of the State Attorney 13th Judicial Circuit, “The State Attorney’s Office is commencing a new DUI initiative called Reducing Impaired Driving Recidivism (RIDR), aimed at reducing impaired driving through enhanced sanctions. RIDR will become effective on March 1, 2018.”

Reducing Impaired Driving Recidivism – RIDR

Program To Help Reduce Repeat DUI Offenders

This is breaking news. At this point, this is all we know. This includes all of Hillsborough County. Recidivism is the likelihood of a convicted criminal to carry out another crime. The new policy hopes to lessen the chance of the driver ever getting a second DUI.

This change in policy is important for drivers charged with their 1st DUI. According to Florida law, pretrial intervention programs can are available for a first time DUI driver as long as they have spoken with a lawyer, agrees to complete the program, waives the right to speedy trial, and the victim, the state, and the judge have all agreed.

DUI News

Florida DUI Arrest Contest Winners

W F Casey Ebsary Jr
DUI Tampa Attorney, DUI Tampa Lawyer, florida dui attorney, florida dui lawyer, florida lawyer,
Florida DUI Arrest
Contest Winners

Hillsborough County, Florida DUI Arrest Contest Winners

Before you believe that officers do not have an incentive to arrest for Florida DUI in the Tampa Bay area – DUI Attorney W.F. ”Casey” Ebsary, Jr. noted there was a recent DUI Award Banquet Honoring Florida Highway Patrol Officers with Over 100 DUI Arrests, according to MADD.  They used to post these awards online until we started asking award winners about these contests in court –  here was the old link http://www.madd.org/chapter/1200_2981 .

Also awarded were officers with over a 1000 arrests.

There were 13 contest winners at the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HSCO) . There were 16 contest winners at the Tampa Police Department (TPD) . These were just the officers who got over a hundred in the year. There are others with less.

Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office

Deputy Jackie Brock Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
Deputy Beau Dobson Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
Deputy James Glover Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
Deputy Carolyn Jolly Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
Deputy Carl McCalla Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
Deputy Jimmy McDowell Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
Deputy Matthew McMurphy Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
Deputy Felix Moret Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
Deputy Lawrence Morrell Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
Deputy Shawn Morrey Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
Deputy Kevin Stabins Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
Deputy Candace Steinmeir Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
Deputy Anthony Watson Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office

Tampa Police Department

Officer Ferdinand Barbosa Tampa Police Department
Officer James Blanchard Tampa Police Department
Corporal Edwin Bodamer Tampa Police Department
Officer Kristie Borgo Tampa Police Department
Master Patrol Officer Steven Buchanan Tampa Police Department
Officer Peter Bucher Tampa Police Department
Officer Steven Cragg Tampa Police Department
Corporal Douglas Groves Tampa Police Department
Officer Juan Melo Tampa Police Department
Officer Anthony Portman Tampa Police Department
Master Patrol Officer Brian Reschke Tampa Police Department
Master Patrol Officer Kenneth Setser Tampa Police Department
Officer Joseph Sustek Tampa Police Department
Master Patrol Officer Dean Uno Tampa Police Department
Master Patrol Officer John Vallejo Tampa Police Department
Master Patrol Officer Steven Wilson Tampa Police Department

1000+ DUI Awards

Deputy Jackie Brock Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
Deputy Lloyd Hyder Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
Deputy Felix Moret Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
Deputy Lawrence Morrell Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
Deputy Paul Shute Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
Deputy Gregory Williams Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office

Officer James Blanchard Tampa Police Department Office
Master Patrol Officer Steven Buchanan Tampa Police Department
Officer Juan Melo Tampa Police Department Office
Officer Anthony Portman Tampa Police Department Office
Master Patrol Officer Kenneth Setser Tampa Police Department Office
Master Patrol Officer John Vallejo Tampa Police Department Office
Master Patrol Officer Steven Wilson Tampa Police Department Office