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Tag: saturation patrols

  • 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.

  • Citrus Heights police plan tickets-not-treats this Halloween

    Warning that October 31 is statistically “one of the most deadly nights of the year,” the Citrus Heights Police Department announced it will be deploying extra officers to the streets as part of a “DUI Saturation Patrol” operation this weekend, according to a press release from the Department.

    Drive sober or get pulled over“We want people to remember: like ‘Trick-or-Treat;’ ‘Drink-or-Drive.’ One or the other, but never both,” said CHPD Sergeant Dave Gutierrez in a written statement to the media. “Before you take your first sip of alcohol on October 31, figure out who your designated sober driver will be.”

    Police say additional officers will be out looking for signs of alcohol or drug impairment beginning Halloween night and extending through the weekend, adding that drinking-while-walking can be “just as dangerous” as drinking-while-driving.

    Statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that among fatalities involving pedestrians in 2012, 34 percent involved the pedestrian being above the legal limit for blood alcohol content, while only 14 percent involved the driver being drunk. The data also reveals pedestrian fatalities doubled on Halloween in 2012, with a total of 54 deaths that night.

    Reminding drivers that “buzzed driving is drunk driving,” the Department said there were 10,322 people killed in drunk-driving crashes in 2012, with nearly half involving a drunk driver. Police label these as “preventable deaths,” resulting from when drunk drivers fail to plan ahead and designate a sober driver.

    In an attempt to curb deaths and injuries from alcohol-related crashes, Citrus Heights police recommend designating a sober driver, reporting drunk drivers and offering to drive someone home who may be impaired. The Department also advises drivers to be extra cautious of the increased level of pedestrians Halloween night.

    The local effort to curb drunk driving is part of a regional and national Avoid DUI Taskforce effort, funded by grants from the NHTSA.

  • CHPD wins $182k grant for more DUI checkpoints, safety enforcement

    The Citrus Heights Police Department (CHPD) announced Tuesday it was awarded $182,525 in grant money for a one-year special enforcement and education program, aimed at reducing traffic-related deaths and injuries in the city.

    Stock photo, Citrus Heights police officers. Photo credit: Luke Otterstad
    Stock photo, Citrus Heights police officers

    “I am proud of our continued partnership with the Office of Traffic Safety,” said Lieutenant Ryan Kinnan in a press release, referring to past grants the local Department has received from OTS.

    CHPD says deaths and injuries fell significantly between 2006 and 2010 in Citrus Heights, but saw “slight increases” in 2011 and 2012. Kinnan is hopeful that “innovative strategies” funded by this latest grant will help reduce collisions and injuries in the city.

    In addition to anti-DUI efforts, the Department says grant funds will go toward public awareness and educational presentations, motorcycle safety and distracted driving enforcement, seat belt and child safety seat enforcement, as well as other traffic-related enforcement activities.

    Answering a common question about why the local Department goes out of its way to publicize DUI checkpoints ahead of time, CHPD Public Information Officer Anthony Boehle previously told The Sentinel that awareness efforts are about preventing drunk drivers from getting on the road in the first place.

    “DUI checkpoints are not intended to make arrests,” Officer Boehle said, explaining the more people know about heavy crackdowns on DUI’s, 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 “DUI Saturation Patrols” — also funded by the grant money — have a much higher potential for making arrests, because of a difference in goals. While checkpoints may arrest a small number of drunk drivers, the officer 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.

    The Department’s high-visibility anti-DUI efforts in the past have been aided by similar grants from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the latest funds are designed to work towards what OTS calls their shared vision: “Toward zero deaths, every 1 counts.”