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  • Super Bowl Sunday DUI crackdown announced by Citrus Heights police

    Super Bowl Sunday DUI crackdown announced by Citrus Heights police

    In a news release issued this week Citrus Heights police announced their “game plan” for Super Bowl Sunday: to deploy extra teams of officers on the streets to specifically seek, stop, and arrest intoxicated drivers.

    Called DUI “saturation patrols,” police said the additional enforcement officers will be out during and after the Super Bowl on Feb. 7, searching for drivers showing signs of alcohol or drug impairment. Police also advised those planning on drinking to designate a sober driver ahead of time, or utilize options like a taxi or Uber.

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    According to police statistics, there were 340 DUI arrests in Citrus Heights last year and 73 DUI-related collisions. Six people were also killed on Citrus Heights roadways last year, with police previously confirming at least half involved alcohol on the part of the driver.

    The Citrus Heights Police Department says it announces enforcement efforts in advance to raise public awareness of DUI crackdowns, in an attempt to cause drivers to “think twice” about operating a vehicle while drunk.

    Although CHPD is known for conducting regularly publicized DUI checkpoints in the city, police did not mention plans for a checkpoint operation this weekend, focusing on saturation patrols instead.

    [Related: 2015 stats show 19% drop in Citrus Heights DUI crashes, but fatalities rise]

    As previously reported on The Sentinel, saturation patrols tend to result in a higher number of arrests than checkpoints, due to a difference in goals, according to CHPD spokesman Anthony Boehle.

    In a prior statement, Boehle said checkpoints are primarily about public awareness, explaining that the more people know about heavy crackdowns on DUIs, the less likely they are to attempt a drive while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. While highly visible checkpoints may arrest a small number of drunk drivers each year, Boehle said a single saturation patrol car can make more arrests in one night than a checkpoint can during the same period.
    A 2006 study paid for by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported alcohol-related crashes dropped significantly in various jurisdictions, after increased, high-publicity DUI campaigns involving saturation patrols, checkpoints, and other operations were conducted. [Document: NHTSA_DUI_Case_Studies_2006.pdf] Police said funding for the Super Bowl DUI crackdown operation comes from a California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) grant, through the NHTSA. CHPD announced last November it had received a $236,190 OTS grant to help fund a year-long program of safety-related efforts, including DUI checkpoints and distracted driving enforcement.

  • CHPD: 9 cited, 1 arrested at weekend DUI checkpoint

    DUI Checkpoint sign. Photo by Luke Otterstad
    Stock photo, Citrus Heights Police Department DUI and driver’s license checkpoint.

    Citrus Heights police conducted a six-hour DUI checkpoint on San Juan Avenue Friday night, screening 689 vehicles and reporting nine citations, two vehicle impounds, and one arrest.

    Although eight sobriety tests were administered by officers with Citrus Heights Police Department’s Traffic Unit, Sergeant David Gutierrez told The Sentinel there were “zero DUI arrests” during the checkpoint — though one was arrested for a “felony no-bail drug warrant.” Gutierrez said officers also issued various citations for violations including driving without a valid license or with a suspended license.

    Police announced on Thursday the DUI and driver’s license checkpoint would begin at 8 p.m. Friday and continue through 2 a.m., with the location chosen being “based on collision statistics and frequency of DUI arrests” in an effort to deter drunk and drugged driving.

    As previously reported on The Sentinel, CHPD Officer Anthony Boehle said the Department goes out of its way to publicize DUI operations ahead of time in an effort to raise awareness and prevent drunk drivers from getting on the road in the first place.

    “DUI checkpoints are not intended to make arrests,” Officer Boehle said, stating the more people know about heavy DUI crackdowns, the less likely they are to attempt a drive while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. “It’s all about public awareness.”

    In contrast to the checkpoints, Boehle explained the Department’s “Saturation Patrols” have a much higher potential for making arrests, because of a difference in goals. While checkpoints may arrest a small number of drunk drivers, he said “Saturation Patrols” are deployed specifically to “hunt” for DUI drivers — adding that a single patrol car can make more arrests in one night, than a checkpoint can in the same time.

    [Related: 11 arrested in Citrus Heights Memorial Day weekend DUI crackdown]

    Funding for Friday night’s DUI checkpoint came from a grant Citrus Heights police received last year from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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  • CHPD Joins Crackdown on Texting while Driving

    Police“Zero tolerance” is what the Citrus Heights Police Dept. is promising, as it joins a month-long enforcement and education campaign to curb hand-held cellphone use while driving.

    The campaign is part of April’s nationwide “Distracted Driving Awareness Month,” and seeks to emphasize that phone calls and texts aren’t worth the risk of getting into an accident and endangering ones self or others, according to a press release by CHPD.

    The National Safety Council estimates that over 275,000 cellphone-involved crashes have occurred this year, and an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study found that drivers using their phones are four times more likely to get into an injury collision.

    The minimum ticket cost for drivers violating a cellphone law is $161, but repeat violator’s can see tickets over $281, according to CHPD.

    The California Highway Patrol and several hundred local law enforcement agencies have also joined the month-long campaign.