Fewer arrests made in holiday DUI patrols

Local law enforcement agencies made fewer driving under the influence arrests over the recently finished holiday season than they did in 2012.

According to numbers released by the Washington State Traffic Safety Commission, 228 motorists in Spokane, Whitman, Pend Oreille and Ferry counties were arrested for DUI as part of the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” enforcement campaign conducted from Nov. 27, 2013 through Jan. 1, 2014. Statewide, law enforcement officers arrested 2,723 drivers for DUI.

Last year in Spokane, Whitman, Pend Oreille and Ferry Counties, during the same time period, officers on routine and extra patrols arrested 237 people for DUI.

Participating agencies providing extra patrols were the cities of Cheney, Airway Heights, Colfax, Pullman and Republic police departments, Eastern Washington University and Washington State University police departments, the Ferry, Pend Oreille and Whitman County sheriff’s offices and the Washington State Patrol with the support of the Spokane County Target Zero Task Force. The extra patrols were funded by a grant from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.

For more information, visit http://www.targetzero.com.