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.
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“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.
Related Article: Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station Announces DUI Checkpoint For Friday
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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