Mandate drawing near for new DUI breath-testing devices for Georgia law enforcement

Every law enforcement agency in Georgia must soon upgrade the devices they’ve been using for years to measure the amount of alcohol in a driver’s breath.

All Middle Georgia law enforcement agencies have the latest device, called the Intoxilyzer 9000. It’s replacing a model that’s been used statewide for DUI cases since 1995.

The GBI, which regulates the devices used in suspected drunken driving cases, mandated the replacement of the Intoxilyzer 5000 with the Intoxilyzer 9000 a couple of years ago. After Dec. 31, the Intoxilyzer 5000 will no longer be approved for breath testing in DUI cases.

There’s a simple main reason for the update: Kentucky-based CMI Inc. no longer makes the Intoxilyzer 5000, said Chris Tilson, manager of the implied consent section of the GBI’s Division of Forensic Sciences.

“A lot of parts have become scarce or unavailable,” Tilson said of the 5000 model, which was designed in the 1980s.

But there’s another reason, and it has to do with a response to a larger volume of records, Tilson said.

The Intoxilyzer 5000, which cost about $6,000, prints a card in triplicate, “so it’s hard to retrieve actual test results that get stored into actual files,” he said. The new model, priced between $8,000 and $9,000, prints diagnostic information on paper and also has the capacity to store it digitally.

“It will work very similarly,” Tilson said of the new device “We did find it is a little more easy to operate and gives more user feedback. It’s much more interactive. ... It’s a little bit easier and walks them through some of the things they need to do.”

Officers trained on the old model must now have training on the new model and have a permit to operate it.

More than 100 Bibb County sheriff’s deputies are certified to operate the new touch-screen Breathalyzer, said Lt. Brad Wolfe, who oversees the traffic division. The department has two of the new 9000 models.

“We phased out our last (Intoxilyzer) 5000 about five months ago,” he said.

Bibb County sheriff’s deputy William Barron has used the Intoxilyzer 5000 more than a thousand times in his 17-year career.

“It’s quicker as far as the set-up and time,” Barron said of the new device. “It’s more user friendly. ...The old 5000, you had to wait 20 minutes for the machine to start up.”

The 5000 model “sounded like an ancient machine.”

“Even the patrons that we had in here, they would make fun of it, (saying), ‘How old is that thing?’ ‘‘ Barron said with a laugh.

Peach County Sheriff Terry Deese said his department replaced its Breathalyzer last year after he learned of the GBI’s mandate. About 15 officers are certified to use the Intoxilyzer 9000, but “our goal is to have all of our deputies certified to use it,” Deese said.

“We just have one in our booking area,” Deese said. “It’s just more modern technology (and) trying to improve, make things simpler and more foolproof.”

The department’s Intoxilyzer 9000 cost $7,998 and was paid for with a grant from the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. The grant also paid for $705 in accessories such as mouthpieces and gas cylinders.

The Jones County Sheriff’s Office purchased its Intoxilyzer 9000 in July 2013, Chief Deputy Barbara Burnette said. The council also picked up the tab, as well as about $1,000 in extra supplies.

The new Breathalyzer is located at the county jail, where it is shared between the sheriff’s office and the Gray Police Department.

Gray Police Chief Adam Lowe said the new Breathalyzer looks almost identical to the old one.

“We didn’t have any issues with the old one,” he said, “but I guess this one must run a couple more diagnostic tests that the other one didn’t.”

To contact writer Laura Corley, call 744-4334 or follow her on Twitter @Lauraecor.

This story was originally published November 27, 2015 at 9:52 PM.