By Jeannette Boner
Jackson Hole News&Guide
Via- Wyoming News Exchange

JACKSON — More than half of all arrests in Wyoming last year involved alcohol. In Teton County, that number jumped to 80% in 2024 — one of the highest percentages in the state, according to the 2024 report from the Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police.

That puts Teton County among the top third of counties for alcohol-involved arrests, alongside Park, Crook and Niobrara counties.

In response, the Teton County Sheriff’s Office has launched a DUI Task Force aimed at enhancing patrols, elevating officer training and working to educate the public in an effort to shift community norms around drinking and driving.

Officials say the new task force is a step toward curbing what remains a persistent and preventable public safety risk.

As part of the initiative, the sheriff’s office was selected as one of only four jurisdictions nationwide to receive federal funding to combat impaired driving.

The $21,000 grant, administered by the Wyoming Department of Transportation and the Governors Highway Safety Association, will fund upgraded Breathalyzers, roadside sobriety training and outreach campaigns. Similar grants were awarded in Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., and Vermont.

“Law enforcement is on the front lines of our battle against drunk and drug-impaired driving,” Jonathan Adkins, CEO of the Governors Highway Safety Association, said in a news release. “By equipping them with the best tools and training, we can help them keep roads safer for everyone.”

According to the 2024 Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police report, 84% of Wyoming residents view drinking and driving as a “serious” or “very serious” problem, while 79% believe alcohol abuse is a significant issue across the state.

Statewide, Wyoming reported more than 5,500 alcohol-involved arrests in 2024, the highest in five years. DUI arrests also climbed to 3,058 statewide, with more than half of those drivers testing at more than twice the legal limit.

In Teton County, alcohol- and drug-related crashes declined from a high of 37 in 2023 to 30 in 2024, according to the Wyoming Department of Transportation. 

But fatalities held steady: Two people died in substance-related crashes in 2024, the third time in four years the county has seen multiple deaths tied to impaired driving, according to WYDOT.

While injury crashes fell from 15 to 13 and property damage-only crashes dropped to their lowest in five years, law enforcement still documented three critical crashes and nine serious injury cases in the county.

Nationally, July and August are the deadliest months for impaired driving. Over the last decade, the DUI grant coalition has distributed more than $1.2 million to highway safety offices across the country.