Number of Latinos Arrested for DUI Still Falling : Alcohol: Officials attribute decline in part to Spanish-language education program in churches, ESL classes and on billboards and posters.

Arrests for drunk driving continue to drop in California--although not as sharply as in the past--and the large number of Latinos among those arrested is still gradually declining, according to statistics recently released by the California Department of Justice.

However, Latinos, who make up 25% of the state’s population, accounted for 46.5% of all arrests for DUI--driving under the influence of alcohol--in the state last year.

Officials attribute the decline in Latino arrests in part to a 5-year-old statewide Spanish-language education program conducted in Catholic churches, English as a Second Language classes and on billboards and posters at liquor stores and bars.

“This reduction in DUI arrests demonstrates an increase in awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving among the state’s Hispanic population,” California Highway Patrol Commissioner Maurice Hannigan said in a written statement.

“Spanish-language traffic safety programs have definitely contributed to this life-saving, heightened awareness in the Hispanic community.”

The “Si Toma, No Maneje” (If You Drink, Don’t Drive) program was originally established in 1989 by the state Office of Traffic Safety. When funds ran out in 1991, the not-for-profit Century Council took it over. The council, formed to combat alcohol abuse, is funded by firms in the beer, wine and liquor business.

According to the statistics compiled by the state Department of Justice, from 1991 to 1992 there was a 16% decline in the total number of misdemeanor drunk-driving arrests statewide, reducing the number to 250,235.

From 1992 to 1993, the decline dropped to 10%, reducing arrests to 224,935.

The number of Latinos among those arrested declined 7.21% in 1992--to 112,956--and 7.26% in 1993, reducing their numbers to 104,755.

Rose Ann Rasic, director of Latino programs for the Century Council, said she was pleased the program’s success can be quantified statistically.

“The key is providing the information in Spanish because we have seen that it has been working in the English-speaking segment,” Rasic said.

Another component of the program involves a drive in Catholic churches to get parishioners to pledge to serve as designated drivers for drinking friends, and not to drink and drive.

“La Promesa,” as the program is called, has reached more than 450,000 Latino Catholics statewide, according to Rasic, and is considered vital because of the church’s influence among Latinos, particularly recent immigrants, according to Louis Velasquez, associate director of the Hispanic Ministry for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

“That’s good news,” Velasquez said when informed of the statistics. “The priests feel that this program is something concrete. The word promesa is important in the Latino culture. When you give your word, you stick to it.”

The program is also included in English as a Second Language classes in more than 400 school districts statewide.

Michael Javier, an ESL teacher at Evans Community Adult School in Los Angeles, said that incorporating the ramifications of drunk driving into the curriculum on life skills makes sense.

“These are skills like writing checks or going into the supermarket,” Javier said. “We’re teaching the students that the ramifications of getting drunk and driving are getting arrested, having your car impounded and having your license revoked.”

Martha Osuna, an alcohol recovery counselor at the Northeast Valley Health Corp. in San Fernando, said education is critical to keeping Latinos from drinking and driving.

“I don’t think a lot of them are aware of the consequences,” Osuna said. “We talk to them about the potential loss of life and family, and I think it has helped a lot.”

Xavier Flores, executive director of Pueblo Y Salud, a social services agency in San Fernando, said a 1990 study he conducted found that the highest number of first-time DUI arrests by officers of the LAPD’s Foothill Division in Pacoima involved foreign-born Latinos who spoke only Spanish. However, such Latinos made up the smallest percentage of repeat DUI offenders.

“That indicates to us that they are coming into the country not knowing the law, but once they found out the hard way and learned their lesson, they are not doing it again,” Flores said.

“I believe that people are getting educated, but I don’t want to give the impression that we have taken care of the problem. The state and county need to continue funding these programs, and distribute the resources so that the Latino community gets its fair share.”