Anchorage PD's DUI Campaign Paying Off
The Anchorage Daily News reports the police department's increased enforcement during the past decade has reduced traffic deaths in the city by 85 percent.
Increased police enforcement aimed at stopping impaired drivers has paid off for the city of Anchorage, Alaska, according to a Dec. 14 article published by the Anchorage Daily News.
Casey Grove's article quotes Police Chief Mark Mew as saying, "Anchorage is a bad place to drive impaired. If you don't believe it, just ask the 19,807 drivers we've arrested for [impaired driving] in the last 10 years."
That's a lot of arrests for a city with 291,826 residents, according to the 2010 Census count.
The enforcement campaign is credited with reducing traffic fatalities in the city to only three in 2010.
The article says state grant money is allowing the department to put more officers on patrol during this yearg's Christmas season and New Year's holiday in an attempt to arrest impaired drivers and prevent fatalities. The department's motto for next year is "Zero for 12," and Mew said they're kicking it off during the 2011 holiday season, Grove reported.