Increased law enforcement boardings reduce boating deaths on Lake Michigan MILWAUKEE – Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan completed 7,753 boardings and cited 199 boaters for Boating Under the Influence in 2005.
“Our data shows that increased boardings and BUI prosecutions correlate to fewer alcohol-related deaths on the water,” said Captain Scott LaRochelle, Sector Lake Michigan’s commanding officer. “What that clearly tells me is that boarding recreational boats and removing drunk boaters from the water saves lives.” Sector Lake Michigan’s law enforcement team consists of small boat search and rescue stations operating along the shorelines of Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan on Lake Michigan. These stations employ 350 active duty and 125 reserve boat crew personnel. Sector Lake Michigan’s BUI cases represented 40 percent of the Coast Guard’s 2005 total. “We have zero tolerance for drunken boaters on Lake Michigan,” warned Chief Warrant Officer Jim Harmon, commanding officer of Coast Guard Station Calumet Harbor, Ill. Harmon’s crew led all small boat stations with 80 BUI cases. “Drunken boat operators pose a great threat to recreational boating safety… a threat not only to themselves and those on their boat, but to the safety of all law abiding boaters on the water.” “A single recreational boarding offers a three-for-one return on investment,” LaRochelle said. “While on board, we ensure the overall safety of the boat, enforce all applicable federal laws, and listen to boaters’ concerns about issues on our waterways.” Sector Lake Michigan was commissioned on August 29, 2005. Headquartered in Milwaukee, this command integrated four major field commands – Groups Milwaukee and Grand Haven, and Marines Safety Offices Chicago and Milwaukee into a single major field command, which now directs and oversees all Coast Guard missions on the lake and reports directly to the Ninth Coast Guard District Commander. -30-
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