The holiday period DUI crackdown has resulted in a significant number of DUI arrests from local routine traffic enforcement and special "Avoid the 12" DUI deployments in Stanislaus County.

Officers representing 12 law enforcement agencies in Stanislaus County arrested 103 drivers for being under the influence of alcohol or drugs from midnight on Dec. 13 through Sunday, Dec. 29. Police also arrested 83 individuals for having outstanding DUI warrants.
Arrests were down from 2012, said Sgt. Chris Perry of the Ceres Police Department. The same police agencies arrested 105 drivers for DUI during the same 17-day period in 2012.

The good news is that nobody died in DUI-related traffic crashes in Stanislaus County during those 12 days.

Police have been performing DUI saturation patrols in Ceres, Modesto, Oakdale, Riverbank and the unincorporated areas of the county.

All regularly scheduled traffic and patrol officers are focusing efforts at stopping and arresting DUI drivers during their normal shifts. The 20-day effort has also included various checkpoints looking for drunken and/or unlicensed drivers, roving DUI patrols, and multi-agency DUI Task Force operations.

Police, Sheriff and the CHP encourage all motorists to help make your community safer: Report Drunk Drivers - Call 911.

Funding for the $160,000 program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Ceres Police Department is administering the grant for the entire county.

DUI arrest data collection will continue through Jan. 1.

The "Avoid the 12" DUI Task Force is named to send the message that if you don't drink or use drugs and drive, you will avoid getting arrested by any of the 12 participating law enforcement agencies in the county. Agencies participating in the ‘Avoid the 12' taskforce include: Ceres, Modesto, Turlock, Oakdale and Patterson police departments as well as Stanislaus State Police, Patterson Police Services, Riverbank Police Services, Hughson Police Services, Waterford Police Services, Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department, Stanislaus County Probation, and the California Highway Patrol.

Motorists may expect to see special DUI campaigns during the winter and summer holiday periods as well as on Halloween, Super Bowl Sunday, St. Patrick's Day, Cinco de Mayo and during local special events with identified DUI problems.