When people are driving under the influence more often than usual, or when the police are out trying to catch more people and get them off the roads, it can lead to some startling statistics.
Did you know that the Kansas City Police Department has officially passed 1,000 DUI arrests in 2020? Based on information released on Sept. 24, the police department believes that this is the first time that they’ve ever seen 1,000 arrests for DUIs in a fiscal grant year.
This year may have been different than usual, though, because the police force used saturation patrols to make many of those arrests. Saturation patrols use a large number of officers and concentrate them in a small geographic area to attempt to catch more offenders.
Why turn to methods like these? The number of traffic fatalities in the city had risen by 47% over the previous year, showing that the number of intoxicated or dangerous drivers was getting out of hand. The police reported that around 75% of all traffic fatalities involved at least one driver who was impaired either by drugs or alcohol.
What should you do if you get caught up in a saturation patrol?
There is no secret that these types of patrols are designed to catch more people who appear to be impaired. That doesn’t mean that all arrests will be appropriate or that you necessarily deserve a DUI. If you’re accused of drinking and driving, you deserve an opportunity to defend yourself and to argue the claims that have been made against you.