Aspen's Tipsy Taxi keeps all of us - locals and visitors - safer from the devastation that can be caused by drunk drivers by offering a free ride home to anyone who has no other way to avoid driving drunk. The program operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and in its 13 years of continual operation has given more than 20,000 safe rides home. Since the inception of Tipsy Taxi in 1983, deaths caused by drunk drivers have gone down and stayed down!

Tipsy Taxi is administered by the Sheriff's Office in cooperation with the Aspen Police Department and the local Restaurant Association. The Program enjoys enormous support, as shown by all the donations from every segment of the community. Any person needing a Tipsy Taxi can get a voucher for a free safe ride home from any bartender or peace officer.

Aspen's Tipsy Taxi has served as a model for similar programs throughout the United States and even Europe. For more information, contact Ellen Anderson, Pitkin County Sheriff's Office, 970-920-5234, or e-mail Ellen Anderson at ellena@co.pitkin.co.us.

(DRUG ABUSE RESISTANCE EDUCATION) The D.A.R.E. program is a nationally acclaimed curriculm that teaches children the risks of drugs and violence in our society. The program is taught by law enforcement officers so that children will received the full impact of the officers experience when learning about the pitfalls of drugs and violence. In the Aspen area, the program is taught to fifth graders at the Aspen Middle School and the Aspen County Day School. The Aspen Police, Snowmass Village Police, and the Pitkin County Sheriff's Office all contribute officers to teach the 17 week curriculm. For more information, contact Investigator Bruce Benjamin (e-mail: bb82@ci.aspen.co.us, Pitkin County Sheriff's Office, 970-920-5300, or Detective Brad Onsgard (e-mail: bo113@ci.aspen.co.us, Aspen Police Department, 970-920-5294.

To help deter the potential bike thief, you can register your bicycle, skis, or snowboard with the Aspen Police Department. You will need to give your social security number and the serial number of your item. You will be given a sticker to affix to it, and your information will then be entered into a national crime information system. If your bicycle, skis or snowboard is stolen, this information will be distributed nation-wide, making recovery more likely. Call Mic McClinton at 970-920-5400 for more information (e-mail: michellem@ci.aspen.co.us).

People caring about each other is one of the characteristics of a healthy community. If neighbors agree that setting up a Neighborhood Watch will enhance their community, the Sheriff's Office would like to help. Call us at 970-920-5300 and our crime prevention specialist will attend a neighborhood meeting to get your Neighborhood Watch started.

While residents are on vacation, deputies will keep an eye on their homes in Piktin County. A few days before departure, stop by or call the Sheriff's Office and request a Vacation Home Check. We will need to know information such as the exact street location of your home, names of emergency contacts, who (if anyone) will be authorized by you to be in your home during your absence, the location of your night-light, and so forth. Then, as time permits, deputies will check on your home while you are away. We will call you on your scheduled return date to confirm that you are back home.

Although no amount of crime prevention can guarantee that a burglar will not strike, we believe that this extra patrol will deter the potential criminal. Call 970-920-5300 to set up a Vacation Home Check in Pitkin County or 970-920-5400 in the City of Aspen.

If you own a home or business, Peace Officers would be glad to review your building with you and make suggestions for increased security. Sometimes simple, inexpensive changes can greatly decrease incidence of shoplifting at a business or the likelihood that a burglar will strike a home or business. Call us at (970-920-5300 (Pitkin County) or 970-920-5440 (City of Aspen) to set up an appointment with a crime prevention specialist.