The Honolulu Police Department is about to activate two computer-age weapons in the battle against drunken driving: a digital camera and a Web page showing the names and faces of motorists arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Thousands of O'ahu motorists are charged with driving under the influence every year, and last year DUI was a contributing factor in about one of every five fatal traffic accidents.

The hope is that the potential for public embarrassment under this new pilot program will serve as a deterrent to those who may be tempted to drink and drive, said Maj. Thomas Nitta, head of HPD's Traffic Division.

Support for the HPD effort came quickly yesterday, but so did questions about the effectiveness of photos as a deterrent.

Jennifer Dotson, current executive director of the Mothers Against Drunk Driving Hawaii state office, said the organization is "very excited" about the new program.

"We're hoping that this will be yet another deterrent that will help prevent drunk driving and will send out a clear message that we and the police department are doing everything possible to make it more uncomfortable for people who drink and drive," Dotson said.

Carol McNamee, founder and current member of MADD Hawaii, said the local chapter generally supports any proposal that will help prevent drunk driving.

"But I haven't been able to find any scientific evidence that programs like this have been an actual deterrent in cities where this has been tried," McNamee said.

She said the idea of posting arrestees' photographs "has come before MADD a number of times."

"It's been difficult to find scientific support for this one way or another," McNamee said.

STARTS WEDNESDAY

Starting at 10 a.m. Wednesday, the HPD Web site will direct viewers to a link containing the names and mug shots of those charged with driving under the influence during the previous week, Nitta said.

The link will be available at www.honolulupd.org, once the program begins.

The photos and text information, including the arrestee's name and the offense he or she is charged with, will remain posted for 24 hours before being removed from the site, Nitta said.

A new page will appear each Wednesday.

Nitta said about 80 to 90 drivers a week are charged on O'ahu with "operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicating" substance, the Hawai'i version of a DUI offense.

Pat McPherson, a leading Honolulu DUI defense attorney and state delegate to the National College for DUI Defense, said he doubts that posting pictures of those arrested for DUI will be much of a deterrent .

The public might look at the posted pictures initially, but it is doubtful they will look at the Web page week after week, he said.

In addition, it puts the Police Department in the position of deciding to punish those charged with drunk driving further by making their photos public before they are convicted or acquitted.

"My other concerns are that this program may be subject to abuse, and that there will be certain people who fall through the cracks" and whose names and photographs won't be posted, McPherson said.

VALUE QUESTIONED

The media and others already sift through HPD arrest logs to look for the names of prominent people arrested and charged with DUI, he said.

"I question whether this is really going to be a deterrent," McPherson said. "Is there any empirical data that shows putting somebody's picture on a Web site for all of 24 hours is going to be a deterrent to the degree that suspending someone's driver's license or sending them to jail upon conviction is?"

McPherson is also concerned about what will happen to people whose pictures appear on the Web site but who are later found not guilty in court.

During 2008, 4,315 O'ahu drivers were charged with driving under the influence, Nitta said.

As of yesterday, the total stood at 3,615 for 2009, which included 186 DUI arrests so far this month.

Last year, driving under the influence was deemed to be a contributing factor in about 20 percent of the fatal traffic collisions on O'ahu, Nitta said.

The Honolulu pilot program will likely last for six months and could be extended.

There is also a possibility that mug shots and names of people arrested on suspicion of other offenses could be posted on the Web site in the near future, Nitta said.