Drunk Driving Suspects Now to Be Fingerprinted

In an effort to collar drunk drivers who wriggle out of law enforcement’s grasp, the City Council voted Tuesday to direct the Los Angeles Police Department to fingerprint and photograph anyone arrested on suspicion of drunk driving.

Currently, the LAPD takes thumb prints of drunk driving offenders, a practice that has proved inadequate to identify people who skip their court dates, said Councilwoman Laura Chick. Sometimes arrestees give false names or false identification cards, making them difficult to track down once they are released.

“There are potentially thousands of DUI arrestees who are slipping through the cracks,” said Chick, chairwoman of the council’s Public Safety Committee. She seconded the fingerprinting motion, made by Councilman Hal Bernson, which the council approved with no discussion.

The Police Department was also instructed to figure out how many drunk driving offenders have not been fully prosecuted and how long it will take to set up a database for the fingerprints and photographs. The department is expected to report back to the council within three weeks, Chick said.