Last week it was reported that Des Plaines, IL police officers may have inflated the actual number of DUI arrests they made in order to get federally funded grant money. The grant money was to be used to encourage DUI arrests and seat belt tickets, and went to pay some officers "overtime" for arrests they allefgedly never have made.
Now, a former Des Plaines Police Commander and head of the program which reported the number of DUI arrests to obtain the grant money, faces a federal charge of making false information. According to the indictment, he "knowingly and intentionally" inflated the number of DUI arrests that were made. The grant required the department submit not only the number of DUI arrests but also the blood alcohol concentration of each person arrested. The former commander is accused of making up 122 false arrests and fake BACs. This lead to the Des Plaines Police Department obtained $132,893 in federal funds which it did not earn.
The grant required 1 DUI arrest be made for every 10 hours of overtime an officer worked. Although Des Plaines has so far refused to release the names of the other officers who participated in the fraud, they may be facing suspensions.