Crime & Safety

First Winter Holiday Anti-DUI Crackdown Weekend Nets 456 Arrests, 2 Reported Fatalities

In 2011, 598 DUI arrests occurred during the same three-day time period in L.A. County. DUI arrest data collection will continue through New Year's weekend, midnight Sunday, Jan. 1, 2013.

The Winter Holiday Anti-DUI crackdown resulted in more DUI arrests from local routine traffic enforcement and special "Avoid the 100" DUI deployments last weekend in Los Angeles County.

From 12:01 a.m., Friday, Dec. 14 through midnight, Sunday,  Dec. 16, officers representing 100 county law enforcement agencies arrested 456 individuals for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

In 2011, 598 DUI arrests occurred during the same three-day time period.

Find out what's happening in Manhattan Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Tragically, there were two reported deaths attributed to drunk drivers in our area over the weekend, both pedestrians struck by vehicles with drivers allegedly driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Enforcement efforts over the weekend included 72 DUI/driver’s license checkpoints, 153 local DUI saturation patrols and 25 DUI warrant/probation sweeps.

Find out what's happening in Manhattan Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Over the course of the next several days of the campaign, DUI patrols will be conducted daily with an increase in operations by Friday.

All regularly scheduled traffic and patrol officers will focus efforts at stopping and arresting DUI drivers during their normal shifts. Multiple DUI/driver’s license checkpoints, multi-agency DUI task force operations and local roving DUI patrols are all part of this region-wide crackdown during the 19-day Winter Holiday Campaign.

Police, sheriff and the California Highway Patrol encourage all motorists to help make your community safer: Report drunk drivers and call 911! The Avoid the 100 Coalition said there are three simple steps people can take to stay safe and out of trouble:

  • Plan ahead. If you will be drinking, do not plan on driving. Designate a sober driver or find another safe way home. Even one too many drinks increases the risk of a crash while driving a motor vehicle.
  • If you are impaired, find another way home. Use a taxi, call a sober friend or family member, use public transportation or contact your local sober-rides-home programs. 
  • Be responsible. If someone you know is drinking, do not let them get behind the wheel. If you see an impaired driver on the road, report them - Call 911! Your actions may save someone’s life, and inaction could cost a life. 

"We want everyone to enjoy their holidays, but we also want our roadways to be safe," said Christopher J. Murphy, director of the California Office of Traffic Safety. "Police, sheriffs and the CHP will be out in force to help save lives, and they are not going to tolerate impaired driving. So remember, 'Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.' They will be watching."

Funding for this program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

DUI arrest data collection will continue through New Year’s weekend, midnight Sunday, Jan. 1, 2013.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.