Nassau police: DWI arrests up since 'Wall of Shame'

Nassau County police say the number of arrests for drunken driving have gone up since they began their ?Wall of Shame? initiative three months ago. State police say they arrested 13 people in Nassau

News 12 Staff

Sep 2, 2008, 11:01 PM

Updated 5,989 days ago

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Nassau County police say the number of arrests for drunken driving have gone up since they began their ?Wall of Shame? initiative three months ago.
State police say they arrested 13 people in Nassau and Suffolk over Labor Day weekend, while Nassau County police arrested 76 drivers for DWI between Friday and Monday.
Authorities say they post the photos of alleged drunken drivers in their ?Wall of Shame? in hopes they will discourage others from drinking and driving. However, 68 more people were arrested this year over Labor Day weekend than in 2007 over the same time period.
Nassau County Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey says the increased arrests may be due to more aggressive policing. However, he believes it's too early to say whether the ?Wall of Shame? is working.
Defense attorney Robert Brunetti says the ?Wall of Shame? violates individual privacy rights. ?It's a punishment in and of itself of a person who hasn't already been convicted,? he says. ?These people are losing their jobs; they're open to public ridicule. Their kids are being harassed in school.?
Nassau officials say their plan is to continue with the ?Wall of Shame? indefinitely.