125 in Handcuffs for DUI As Avoid the 12 Reports 38% Drop in Arrests During Holiday Campaign

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY- December 29th, 2008

 Police officers, CHP officers and sheriff’s deputies in Santa Barbara County have arrested 125 people on suspicion of driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs since the Avoid the 12 countywide holiday crackdown began on Dec. 12.

“This is 38 percent drop, which makes it a big improvement from last year, when we had 203 in handcuffs,” said Deputy Win Smith of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, campaign coordinator.

There have been 14 alcohol-related injury crashes since the three-week effort began. It ends at midnight on New Year’s Day. This is up from 11 at this time last year, but significantly down from the 25 recorded in the 2006-07 holiday period, which was Avoid the 12’s first year.

A campaign task force took in four DUI suspects in an operation in Santa Barbara over Saturday night and Sunday morning, while officers made only one DUI arrest at a checkpoint in Lompoc on Saturday after conducting 17 investigations.

At the Lompoc checkpoint, officers cited 13 for driving without a valid license and towed their cars, two for driving on a suspended license and arrested one driver for a federal DUI warrant, said Sgt. Ed Lardner of the Lompoc police.

Avoid the 12, like its neighboring campaign, Avoid the 14 in Ventura County, is funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.