The Long Beach Police Department’s Traffic Section, along with 21 additional officers from law enforcement agencies in Gardena, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, Torrance and Vernon, participated in the Driving Under the Influence “Avoid the 100” Saturation Patrol Task Force on Friday, April 15, according to information provided by LBPD spokeswoman Lisa Massacani.
Officers with the El Camino School Police Department and the California State Police at UCLA also participated in the Long Beach operation, she said.
The operation was conducted for approximately 10 hours, beginning at 6 p.m. Friday night and culminating at about 4 a.m. Saturday morning, Massacani said.
In addition to the 14 DUI and nine miscellaneous arrests, seven vehicles were towed and 26 field sobriety tests were conducted, Massacani said.
According to the LBPD, drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs cause one death every 30 minutes and one injury every two minutes.Additionally, the average American has a 30 percent chance of being injured or killed by an impaired driver
Massacani said that DUI saturation patrols have been shown to reduce impaired driving-related collisions by taking impaired drivers off the streets
The saturation patrol task force effort was funded entirely by a a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Safety Administration. No city funds were used to cover costs associated with the operation.
Additional information on this DUI enforcement operation can be obtained by contacting Sgt. Douglas Bender at 562-570-7484.