Police officers in the Dallas area would like to initiate mandatory blood testing for all DWI suspects, but cost is a major concern.

Law enforcement officials and prosecutors often prefer blood test evidence to breath test evidence. There are a number of factors that can interfere with the success of a breath alcohol test. With a blood test, there are fewer holes to discover, and a defense attorney may have a more difficult time challenging the evidence. Dallas police would like to make this the norm, and they would issue a permanent "no refusal" policy to do so.

Under the policy, a warrant would be immediately sought for any individual refusing a blood test. The tests would cost the department about $350,000 each year, though, according to the Dallas Local News. The program would outsource blood testing to a local forensic lab to the tune of approximately $100 per suspect. There are around 3,500 to 3,600 suspects arrested each year in the area for suspicion of DWI.

In a time when local and state governments alike are victim to decreased budgets from the economic downturn, a program that could cost this much in a single year is not a popular initiative. However, some estimate this could be a trade off to other expenses associated with prosecuting DWIs. With fewer wholes in the evidence, prosecutors may have to try cases much less, resulting in lower costs to officers who are asked to attend court.

Dallas officers do not want to draw blood directly. Even though this would reduce the cost of the program, police in the area believe there are too many liability issues with officers carrying out this sensitive medical process. Officers are not trained to the same degree as the average nurse in a hospital, and failure to follow procedure cases are the least of concern if a suspect suffers some type of medical injury in the process of having blood drawn.