PHOENIX — A conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol is something many people try to conceal, even from their families. But now the bleary-eyed, disheveled and generally miserable visages of convicted drunken drivers here, captured in their mug shots, are available to the entire world via a Web site.
The hall of shame is even worse for drunken drivers convicted of a felony. A select few will find their faces plastered on billboards around Phoenix with the banner headline: Drive drunk, see your mug shot here.
The Web site and billboards, which began last month, are the brainchildren of Andrew P. Thomas, the county attorney here who has served as the prosecutorial counterpart to the county's hard-edged sheriff, Joe Arpaio, who has been known to force inmates into pink underwear.
The purposes of the billboards and the Web site, Thomas has said, are to inform the public about drunken-driving laws and to serve as a deterrent.
"People tend to like it, and it gets a message across to the offender," said Mike Scerbo, a spokesman for Thomas, who declined to be interviewed. "We haven't heard any complaints." There are five billboards near freeways in the Phoenix area, with Thomas' name in bold letters, and more will be up soon, Scerbo said.
The billboards will only feature convicted felons, whose crimes, which almost always involve someone's death, are explained in detail on the Web site, StopDUIAZ.com. But those convicted of misdemeanors can be found on the site if the localities where they were convicted are willing to provide the mug shots and conviction information.
The tactic gets mixed reviews from Mothers Against Drunk Driving.