Huntington Beach Arrests for Drunk Driving May Appear On-Line

Huntington Beach continues its work toward maintaining a safe environment for residents and party-goers alike. It was revealed that the city had significantly high numbers when it comes to drunk driving. The city of 201,000 residents has the third most DUI drivers in the state according to an article in the Orange County Register. In comparison with Irvine, a city with about the same population, HB had 1000 more DUI’s. While they might have a similar population size, Huntington Beach does seem to have a higher level of nightlife. In an effort to tackle this issue, the city is looking into posting DUI arrests. It is not clear how much it would differ from the information already available online. Orange County Superior Court does make criminal and traffic case information on-line, including charges and hearing dates. The Orange County Sheriff allows people to look for those that have been arrested or have arrest warrants. It is unclear whether such postings would discourage people from drunk driving. Just because it’s available to the public does not mean it will be read by someone. An interested person would still need to initiate a search to see the information, so it’s not quite like a scarlet letter that everyone you meet will automatically know. Notably, municipalities have previously posted arrests for prostitution in an effort to curb the crime through embarrassment. What would probably make more of a difference in drunk driving cases is increasing the severity of the consequences for drunk driving. An increase in fees and a further restriction on driving privileges would up the ante. See, Vehicle Code Sections 23152 (a) (b), 23153 (a) (b).