This letter is to inform you of the Texas District & County Attorneys Association (TDCAA)’s support for the Law Enforcement Advanced DUI/DWI Reporting System (LEADRS) and for the

continuing efforts of the Texas Municipal Police Association (TMPA) to support and improve this valuable system.

The TDCAA is committed to increasing the efficiency of DWI prosecutions throughout the state of Texas by providing prosecutors with the best available training and resources on DWI

and alcohol related issues.  TMPA’s proposed support program for LEADRS will ensure that LEADRS remains a vital tool for law enforcement agencies and criminal justice professionals. 

Without continued officer training and system support, LEADRS will fail to meet the changing needs of police officers and prosecutors.

TMPA’s additional proposal to add online reporting modules for breath and blood evidence would be a great improvement to the system.  Prosecutors often receive breath and blood-test evidence

separately from the case reports provided by arresting officers.  This test evidence is crucial to preparing a case for trial or for negotiating pleas.  Breath and blood evidence is difficult to track and

waiting for these results can create a 30 to 90-day delay in an already bogged-down court system.  The addition of these modules to LEADRS would allow this evidence to be attached to the electronic

case report, significantly streamlining the DWI process for prosecutors and police officers alike.

TDCAA fully supports the ongoing efforts by TMPA to streamline the DWI process.  We are committed to assisting TMPA in their efforts and will continue to provide support through technical and

professional advice and guidance.

If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call at the TDCAA office.  Thank you for your continued support!

Sincerely,

W. Clay Abbott

DWI Resource Prosecutor

Our department was one of the first to begin the use of the on-line DWI reporting system in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area.  We are a police department with 157 sworn officers protecting a city of approximately 115,000 people.  We have 72 officers in Patrol and a Traffic Unit of 6 officers.  We have three major high speed expressways (IH 35, SH 121, and PGBT) in our city and our city borders several large restaurant and entertainment areas where large amounts of alcoholic beverages are consumed.  In 2004, our department made 442 arrests for DWI and we suffered 56 alcohol related crashes. 

I did a time study on the amount of time it was taking officers to complete a DWI arrest from time of stop until they cleared from the jail with a complete report filed.  The average time was 3 hours and

58 minutes.  After almost 18 months on the system, we have reduced the time to 1 hour and 50 minutes.  Some officers can complete the arrest in an hour.  The key to keeping the time low is having internet access via MDC (Mobile Data Computer) in the car.  While the officer waits on a tow truck he can be imputing data into the site.  I suspect that with the coming enhancements and the more experience the officers obtain that the time will continue to be reduced. 

The report is clear and easy to read and understand.  Everything needed for a successful prosecution is contained in the report.  The officer who completes it can be as detailed as he/she wants to be.  That translates to mean that the officer can quickly enter in the basic information needed and exit the report or he/she can also enter in very detailed descriptions of all the events.  The Affidavit contained in the report is complete and easy for the Judge to understand.  Our senior Municipal Court Judge, Deanna Burnett, has told me that she was so impressed with the Affidavit that she asked

me to develop a similar one for DWLI offenses.  I consider the initiative to be a success and it should be expanded to all departments in the nation.

Doug Mitchell

Sergeant Traffic Division, Operations Bureau

Carrollton Police Department

Greetings:

We are in desperate need of some DWI enforcement training.  Our Chief has instructed me to find a class, school or instructor to come and show our officers the correct ways of DWI enforcement/paper-work, etc….

We definitely want to “GET ON-LINE” with the LEADRS program.  We have seen that it simplifies the paperwork/procedure.

Ed Nendell

Det. Sergeant  Lakeway Police Department

Since our implementation of the LEADRS program within Rowlett PD, we have generated significantly more interest by officers to investigate and arrest DWI offenders.  In the past, Officers were hesitant to make an arrest for DWI, citing the fear of the paperwork and court time they would spend on that type of offense.  We have also seen a significant reduction in the amount of license revocation hearings that our officers ware called to attend as well as evidence suppression hearings.  Thanks for all your help.  If there is anything I can do for you let me know and I will do my best

to help out.

Charles Hoff

Rowlett PD

RE:            Letter of Support for the DWI Process Reduction Project

This letter is to inform you of the Texas Department of Public Safety’s support for the Law Enforcement Advanced DUI/DWI Reporting System (LEADRS) developed by the Texas Municipal Police Association (TMPA).  This system has eliminated the redundancy that is involved in DWI paperwork and has reduced the number of precious man hours previously spent on the DWI arrest

procedure. 

The Texas Department of Public Safety has approved the use of LEADRS by its personnel.  We fully support the efforts that are being put forth to initiate the system on a statewide level and to

develop additional system modules for intoxilyzer and blood test information.

We believe it is important that TMPA continue its efforts with this program and that TMPA should be granted approval to improve LEADRS, to fully implement it in all police departments across

the state of Texas, and to integrate intoxilyzer and blood test information into the system.

The Texas Department of Public Safety supports the Texas Municipal Police Association in its efforts to reduce the number of DWI offenders and save lives through this enhanced reporting

system.

Major Gonzalez

Re: LEADRS DWI Reporting System

As you know I have been involved with TMPA and the LEADRS system since the very first focus group I attended at the Cedar Park Police Department in late 2004.  The very concept of a system

that would ease the paperwork burden created by making a DWI arrest in the State of Texas was intriguing to say the least.  It takes no less than seven different forms to properly complete a DWI

arrest and most of the paperwork is redundant, if for no other reason than having to write a driver’s name, date of birth and driver license number seven different times.  The initial process alone

tends to take the average officer approximately two hours to complete, without writing a case report.

Since the inception of the LEADRS system, I have been able to complete a DWI arrest is an hour or less, depending on the type of offense and the circumstances surrounding the arrest.  Not only

have I been able to decrease the time it takes to process a DWI arrest but also, I have found that my investigations are more thorough and the case reports more complete.  I attribute my own

progress and improvement in DWI enforcement to the fact that numerous persons have put considerable time and effort into developing a system that helps to answer almost all of the possible questions that might be asked during the investigation and/or subsequent legal processing of a DWI case and the redundancy of filling out forms has been reduced or eliminated.  The program

is so well thought out and developed that one only need enter a driver’s name, date of birth and license number once and it is automatically placed in all the forms that require the information. 

I cannot speak highly enough of this system or its potential.  The best testimony I can give about this system is the large number of DWI arrests that I have been able to make and process simply because I am spending less time tied to a desk or in court and more time on the road where I need to be in order to apprehend intoxicated drivers.  This is not only true for me but for the vast

majority of the Troopers in my office.  TMPA has our greatest praise and admiration for the development of this system.

Michael Scheffler

Corporal IV