DUI arrests in Los Angeles County during the Labor Day weekend are slightly higher this year compared to last, according to California Highway Patrol (CHP) officials.
Officers have arrested 259 motorists for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol between 6 p.m. Friday and 6 a.m. Monday, according to the latest information available from CHP.
No one has been killed so far during the holiday monitoring period, set to end at 6 a.m. Tuesday, said Officer Tatiana Sauquillo.
This year’s arrests represent a roughly 14 percent increase in LA County motorists getting caught intoxicated between the wheel. In 2011, 227 drivers in LA County were arrested for DUI during the Labor Day weekend.
The number of DUI arrests statewide were down slightly this year from last, but officials warned that there’s still time before those numbers are finalized.
So far this year, 1,008 motorists have been arrested for DUI compared to 892 in 2011, Sauquillo said.
DUI patrols were out in full force in the weeks leading up to the holiday weekend.
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From 12:01 a.m. on Aug. 17 to midnight on Aug. 26, officers from 100 county law enforcement agencies arrested 1,258 motorists for driving under the influence, according to the LA County Sheriff’s Department.
That figure was down slightly from 2011, when 1,649 DUI arrests were made during the same 10-day period.
DUI saturation patrols and checkpoints dotted the Southland during the “Avoid the 100 LA County DUI Campaign,” which lasted slightly longer than two weeks.
On Labor Day, CHP plans to continue its Maximum Enforcement Period through 11:59 p.m. and all regularly scheduled traffic and patrol officers will focus on stopping and arresting DUI drivers during their normal shifts. No official DUI checkpoints were planned for Monday, Sauquillo said.
Law enforcement took the holiday weekend, which signifies the end of summer vacation for many, as an opportunity to remind revelers not to drive intoxicated and to report drivers they believe may be under the influence by calling 911.
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