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Crime & Safety

Police and Sheriff Roll Out BAT Mobile for Holiday DWI Enforcement

Expect checkpoints and increased patrols during the holiday weekend.

Anyone who dares drive drunk in Southampton over Memorial Day weekend will have the BAT Mobile to fear — the Breath Alcohol Testing Mobile Unit, that is.

In an interagency effort, the and police departments are increasing patrols and setting up DWI checkpoints around town with the help of the Suffolk County sheriff’s office and the sheriff’s new BAT Mobile.

The sheriff’s office put the BAT Mobile into operation in fall 2010, said Chief Michael Sharkey, the office’s spokesman. “It’s a completely self-contained processing center.”

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The BAT Mobile has both a breath testing area, with an Intoxilizer 5000 analysis instrument, and a station to draw blood. Sharkey said handheld breathalyzers that police officers use on patrols are not sufficient to prosecute a DWI case, but Intoxilyzer and blood test results can be used in court.

There are also workstations to process arrests and jail cells for up to four prisoners, he said.

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Having the BAT Mobile allows for civilians to process suspects and for police officers to get back in the field immediately following an arrest, Sharkey said. If officers had to take suspects back to police headquarters for processing, they could spend more than half of their shifts on one arrest between driving and processing, he added.

The mobile also has staff bathrooms, a telescoping light to illuminate the surrounding area and a Smart Board for briefings, Sharkey said.

“We will be out there, all three days over the holiday weekend,” Lt. Robert Pearce of the town police department said Thursday. “We’ll have roving patrols and checkpoints; we’ll be out in force.”

He said the multiagency DWI enforcement plan is a first for the town police.

Capt. Thomas Cummings of the Southampton Village Police Department credited the new cooperation to former village police chief William Wilson's recent appointment to head the town police department.

Sharkey said the sheriff’s office does not reveal checkpoint locations ahead of time, because it would be counterproductive. But he assured that there would be checkpoints throughout town all weekend and increased patrols.

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