Under the Influence, Part 1: Special police unit hunts for drunken drivers
From drugs to drinking, Suffolk has some of the highest number of arrests of motorists who shouldn't be behind the wheel. In part one of her two-part series "Under the Influence," News 12 Long Island's
News 12 Staff
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Apr 13, 2015, 6:32 PM
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Updated 3,298 days ago
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From drugs to drinking, Suffolk has some of the highest number of arrests of motorists who shouldn't be behind the wheel.
In part one of her two-part series "Under the Influence," News 12 Long Island's Eileen Lehpamer takes you on patrol with the Selective Alcohol Fatality Enforcement Task Force (SAFE-T) -- a specialized unit unique to the Suffolk County Police Department. Its only goal is to stop drivers under the influence. The group doesn't have other distractions since it doesn't respond to 911 calls.
Last year, the Suffolk County Police Department made thousands of DWI arrests, with 123 of them made by just one officer on the SAFE-T team.
In Nassau County, the county's police department has officers assigned to the Safety Enforcement Team (SET) for DWI enforcement.
Tomorrow in Part 2 of this special report, News 12's Eileen Lehpamer looks at how officers are trained to spot drunken and drugged drivers.
