Impaired driving cases deferred for lack of disclosure

Miriam Ostermann
Times Associate Editor

 

Missing breathalyzer maintenance documentation is giving rise to province-wide challenges and resulting in some Alberta motorists alleged of driving impaired to have their charges stayed – a consequential issue that’s affecting Strathmore where cases have also been withdrawn.
According to Strathmore RCMP, a private lab company, Ottawa-based Davtech Analytical Services, performed annual maintenance on the breathalyzer instruments for areas of RCMP jurisdiction.
However, after the maintenance records – which are used to prove the devices were working at the time when used on an individual – failed to be produced by the company, over 15 cases have already been withdrawn provincially.
The Strathmore RCMP would not comment on how many cases were stayed involving the municipality.
“There’s nothing wrong with our instruments, there never has been, but what became an issue was the court started demanding documents for maintenance that they’ve never asked for; ever in history,” said Staff. Sgt. Steve Vince with the Strathmore RCMP detachment.
“These records that were traditionally kept by this private lab company were difficult to obtain. So unfortunately, this year, we’ve lost a lot of impaired cases because they’ve had to be withdrawn from the courts.”
At the end of last year, the detachment laid 25 charges municipally as well as an additional 23 charges as a result of the Enhanced Traffic Program – offences that were alcohol-related and not necessarily defined as criminal charges. In comparison, an RCMP official informed town council last year that impaired driving cases took a nosedive of nearly 25 per cent, based on data collected from April 1 to the end of October in 2014, compared to numbers for the same timeframe in 2013.
Vince stated that the problem of driver impairment has remained at the forefront throughout his career and active efforts endure to manage the issue. He remains optimistic that the matter of stayed charges due to lack of disclosure surrounding breathalyzer equipment in Alberta will be resolved quickly.