Crime & Safety
Police Report Fewer DUI Arrests During Summer, Labor Day Crackdown
Enforcement period ends Monday, Sept. 2 at midnight.
—By Bay City News Service
A summer campaign by law enforcement agencies against drunk driving will conclude on Labor Day weekend.
County task forces have participated in the Summer/Labor Day National Anti-DUI crackdown that began on Aug. 16 and ends on Monday.
Since the campaign began many counties are reporting fewer arrests compared to last year's numbers.
During the first week of the national crackdown the "Avoid the 13" DUI task force in Santa Clara County reported 122 people compared to 165 arrests during the same time last year.
In San Mateo County officers with the "Avoid the 23" DUI task force arrested 105 people for driving under the influence between Aug. 16 and Aug. 29.
During the same two-week period last year the county reported 142 arrests.
The "Avoid the 21" task force in Alameda County have a DUI checkpoint scheduled for this evening in Hayward.
In Solano County officers arrested 24 people for drunk driving during the first two weeks of the campaign, down from 35 arrests last year during the same time period.
Solano and San Mateo counties did not report any drunk driving related deaths as of Friday.
The California Highway Patrol's Labor Day Maximum Enforcement Period began Friday at 6 p.m. and runs through Monday at 11:59 p.m.
California Highway Patrol spokeswoman Sgt. Diana McDermott said the state reported more than 1,300 arrests during last year's crackdown, fewer than 2011.
McDermott said the CHP is advising people to always have a designated driver if they plan to drink and make sure people have their seatbelts on when they enter a vehicle.
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