West Valley DUI Task Force makes record number of arrests

With the help of funding from the Governor's Office of Highway Safety, Arizona law-enforcement officers arrested a record number of DUI suspects.

Behind the crackdown are myriad state DUI task forces, including the West Valley DUI Task Force, which coordinates special-night and weekend DUI suppression efforts to nail those who drink and get behind the wheel.

The Governor's Office supplied funding that allowed police departments to pay officers overtime for DUI patrol work.

In Glendale, the West Valley DUI Task Force brought in its fair share of suspects. Ninety-five drunken-driving arrests were made in the West Valley's largest city between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, when experts say revelers are more likely to hit the road.

Because people attend more holiday parties and events, travel and alcohol consumption tends to jump. In a typical year, more than 1,000 people nationwide die in drunken-driving crashes between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, according to Mother's Against Drunk Driving.

As a whole, the West Valley DUI Task Force netted 338 individuals on suspicion of drunken driving during the holiday period.

Enforcement events were held on New Year's Eve and the days following Christmas and Thanksgiving. As expected, the task force on Dec. 31 netted the most suspects, 56.

Although the holidays are over, the West Valley DUI Task Force warns drunken drivers that it's not slowing down.

The task force uses regular enforcement and checkpoints in which patrol officers descend on an area to find drivers who appear to be impaired. Saturation efforts often target heavily trafficked areas with restaurants and bars, such as Westgate City Center and Peoria's entertainment corridor along 83rd Avenue.

Other agencies that participate in the task force include Peoria, Buckeye, Surprise, El Mirage, Tolleson, Goodyear, Avondale and Phoenix with help from the Department of Public Safety.

Many of the West Valley agencies have leftover funds, which they plan to funnel into DUI enforcement throughout the coming months.

Most recently, Peoria accepted $52,000 in grants from the Governor's Office for DUI enforcement and speed-enforcement education.

Alberto Gutier, director of the Governor's Office of Highway Safety, said the state has plans to increase its support for the West Valley DUI Task Force this year, providing overtime pay for Maricopa County Sheriff's Office corrections officers to help book and process suspects.



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