[KHTS] – A “saturation patrol” conducted by Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies Friday led to 10 arrests and 35 citations, authorities announced Monday.
A DUI checkpoint was originally scheduled for Friday night, but it was changed to a saturation patrol due to “inclement weather,” according to sheriff’s station officials.
“A DUI checkpoint is stationary, but a saturation patrol is deputies going out into the field and looking for offenders,” said Sgt. Richard Cohen of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station. “Unfortunately, time and time again we keep coming across people that are driving under the influence or committing some other kind of vehicle code violation, so it’s beneficial that we have these programs.”
The patrol was conducted inside the city limits of Santa Clarita between the hours of 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. as part of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s commitment to public safety, authorities said.
Arrests from Friday’s patrol included one DUI drug suspect, four suspended/revoked drivers and five unlicensed drivers.
Two people were given standard field sobriety tests, four vehicles were impounded and 35 miscellaneous vehicle code infraction citations were issued, according to the news release.
“Over the course of the past three years, DUI collisions have claimed 49 lives and resulted in 893 injury crashes, harming 1,113 of our friends and neighbors,” said Sgt. Joseph Jakl of the Risk Management Bureau in an earlier interview.
In the Santa Clarita Valley alone, sheriff’s deputies have investigated 212 fatal and injury DUI collisions in the past three years; countywide, 730 individuals were killed in drunk-driving wrecks.
Saturation patrols lower DUI deaths and injuries by deterring people from driving drugged or drunk and raising public awareness, according to the news release.
Those arrested and convicted for DUI can expect jail time, vehicle storage or impound fees, license suspension, fines, DUI classes, increased insurance rates and other expenses that can push the cost of an arrest to more than $10,000.
Funding for checkpoint and saturation patrol operations is provided by a grants from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
For more information, click here or contact the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station at 661-255-1121.
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4 Comments
Good proof that patrolling works a lot better than those ridiculous checkpoints. ..
No, just proof that patrols catch more drunks and get them off the streets. Checkpoints are highly visible, highly publicized events meant to deter drinking and driving in the first place.
Patrols have little deterrent value, but high enforcement value. Checkpoints have been shown to have the potential to lower DUI fatality rates by up to 20 percent by virtue of their deterrence. People go through them, drive past them, hear about them via multiple grapevines and get the ongoing impression that drunk driving is dangerous, socially unacceptable, and that law enforcement is actively looking for it.
They are both good tactics and both should be in the arsenal of DUI combating tactics, along with others. In terms of catching drunks, nothing beats patrols. In terms of saving lives, nothing beats checkpoints.
resulting in $$$$$$$$$$$$$ in funds for the aforementioned sheriff’s department…serve (yourselves) and protect (your own asses) right guys?
Agreed, regular observance of drivers should be enough to net the impaired drivers. Better to not inconvenience mass numbers of people that are driving safely.