A Hiram police officer recently honored by Mothers Against Drunk Driving would find drunk-driving arrests rewarding even without a ceremony.

“I enjoy taking them off the road,” said Officer Jesse Dunbar.

The patrolman charged 50 people with driving under the influence in 2010 in Hiram.

“We get plenty through here,” he said. “We have a lot of bars in town.”

Even people who should know better, such as pilots, drink before driving, he said.

“I don’t really ever cut anybody a break, no matter who they are, because it’s not acceptable to me,” Dunbar said.

Also, treating people unequally would reduce his credibility in all future court cases, he said.

“If you’re under the influence, you’re going to jail,” he said.

The Dallas resident joined the Hiram force a year and a half ago after working on the police force at the University of West Georgia, where he studied criminal justice. He also worked two years for the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department at the county jail.

Dunbar already has made 20 DUI arrests this year, he said.

The award is his first from an outside organization, he said. Other honors have include a commendation from the University of West Georgia for catching suspects and guns in connection with a campus robbery during his time with school’s police force. He also was second in his graduating class at the North Central Georgia Law Enforcement Academy in Austell.

MADD Georgia hosted its seventh annual Golden Shield Honors banquet March 24 at the Georgia International Convention Center in College Park to recognize law enforcement officers and agencies for their efforts to stop drunk driving.

Dunbar was one of 94 Georgia recipients of the Silver Pin for making 50 to 99 DUI arrests in the year.

An additional 320 also were honored with Red Pins (150 or more DUI arrests); Gold Pin (100 to 149 arrests); and Bronze Pin (25 to 49 arrests).

Paulding County Sheriff’s deputies Jerry Jones, Jerrod Wall and Al Gonzalez were Bronze Pin recipients, according to the state chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

“We did the judging outside Georgia,” said Emily Clines, state executive director of the organization. “Our national office in Texas helped us. We wanted outside views that didn’t have any local connection so it would be non-biased and fair.”

Dunbar was the only honoree from the Hiram force.

“We do everything from domestic cases to robberies, but traffic is my favorite, ever since I started,” he said.

Drugged or drunken drivers face some stiff penalties, he said.

“It’s usually a $1,000 fine, some jail time and DUI classes for the first offense. And usually they’re not firsts. It gets expensive.”