Leetsdale has renewed its commitment to the West Hills DUI Task Force, a state-funded collective of multiple police departments that engages in roving patrols, traditional stationary checkpoints and educational initiatives to help keep streets safe.
Council unanimously voted March 13 to renew its municipal police cooperative agreement.
Borough officials said there is no expiration date on the agreement. However, had council not approved the renewal, Leetsdale would no longer be a part of the task force.
Chief Dan Raible said Leetsdale has been a part of the task force since its inception in the early 2000s.
“We signed a similar agreement when we obtained membership,” Raible said. “The membership does not expire, just gets refreshed from time to time like a mutual aid agreements does.”
The task force is coordinated by Moon Township Police Lt. Shener R. Ulke.
It’s funded by a PennDOT Police Traffic Services Enforcement Grant.
About $90,000 is allocated to the West Hills team to cover manpower hours of its member departments during task force activities.
Its other communities include Crescent, Findlay, Ohio, Kennedy, North Fayette, Robinson and Stowe townships as well as Crafton, Edgeworth, Sewickley, Avalon, Bellevue, Coraopolis, and Carnegie.
Ulke said he is working on a deal with Oakdale to have it become the 17th member.
Task force members receive specialized training. Officers at a minimum must be certified in standardized field sobriety testing to participate. There are others who have more training, such as drug recognition experts and advanced roadside impairment driving enforcement.
Raible said there are multiple benefits that come with being a part of the task force.
“They are a crucial part in reducing alcohol related crashes and fatalities, not only to the drivers themselves, but passengers or other motorists/bicyclists/pedestrians on the roads, sidewalks, parks, etc.,” Raible said. “They collect and analyze data related to impaired driving, which helps identify trends and areas mostly affected. Funds are provided by grants obtained so no cost to the boroughs/townships/etc.”
Ulke said the task force is in the middle of a three-year grant cycle, and Leetsdale’s renewal is part of updating paperwork for the next grant application.
He added the paperwork updates also help the task force and its members remain in compliance with the state municipal police jurisdictions act, also referenced as Title 42, which essentially allows officers outside their jurisdiction to enforce state laws should certain criteria be met.
“It’s a healthy exercise,” Ulke said of the agreement renewals. “We’re not looking to kick anybody out.”
The task force does about six activities per year, three checkpoints and three roving patrols. These can take place in any of the member municipalities.
Ulke said locations are selected based on state crash data. The task force usually focuses on heavily trafficked areas such as the Route 65 corridor.
The checkpoints involve officers from multiple member departments as well as state troopers.
Ulke said roving patrols regularly include police from about five or six member departments meeting up at the Moon Township station before returning to their municipalities to do DUI enforcement.
A certified phlebotomist is in Moon during the patrols to assist with any blood draws of suspected DUI drivers, cutting down on possible wait times compared to going to a hospital.
Networking is another benefit of being on the task force.
“We get to do some target enforcement, but we also benefit from knowing each other,” Ulke said.
The task force conducted roving patrols March 15 as part of the St. Patrick’s Day weekend.
Municipalities that participated in the patrol included Leetsdale, Ohio Township, Bellevue, Avalon, Edgeworth and Sewickley. Data from that patrol was still being compiled as of press time on March 20.
Ulke has been a task force member for many years and served as its coordinator since 2018.
He said Leetsdale has been an outstanding participant.
“They tend to have a pretty squared away police department,” Ulke said. “Their chief likes to do it by the book, and I think he hires pretty good people. They’re productive and understand the assignment.”
Raible said he is proud to have his department be a part of the task force.
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“The main objective of any task force is to reduce crime and protect the public/property,” Raible said.
“The West Hills DUI Task Force, along with its members overall objective is to reduce accidents and fatalities from occurring because of impaired driving in order to protect the public — even if that means protecting someone from themself.”