Michigan has been particularly hard hit by Covid-19, and our Governor Gretchen Whitmer has responded with a series of executive orders effectively ordering residents into house arrest. Under the most recent shelter in place Executive Order 2020-42, citizens are allowed to leave their homes only for things necessary to sustain life, such as to obtain food and medicine. Even then, Michigan’s governor has ordered that citizens make maximum use of delivery services, meaning there is a near total lock down until May 1, 2020. Consequently, all bars and sit down restaurants remain closed, as are public gatherings of almost any size, even in one’s home.
While alcohol consumption in Michigan is on the rise during the pandemic meaning people are now drinking copious quantities inside their homes, often as part of a virtual happy hour with friends, they are not leaving their homes or driving their cars. As a result, the Michigan’s economy is at a near halt, and with it, so too are DUI arrests.
On top of this, police resources are strained by covid-19 personnel losses, and the already strained police forces are refocusing efforts toward enforcing the governor’s shelter in place orders, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $1,000 fine and up to 90 days in jail. With the roadways nearly empty, and fewer police on patrol, far less traffic stops are occurring.