State Police Increasing Number Of Patrol Units For St. Patrick's Day
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- St. Patrick's Day is Sunday, and Maryland State Police are increasing the number of patrol units across the state.
State Police will conduct saturation patrols throughout each of the 23 barracks, focusing on impaired, aggressive and distracted driving.
Initiatives will include saturation patrols in areas known to have a higher number of DUI crashes, or arrests, and sobriety checkpoints.
During last year's St. Patrick's Day, State Police made 105 DUI arrests, 32 criminal arrests and 15 drug-related arrests.
State Police also issued 1,141 speeding citations, 90 seatbelt citations and 2,700 other citations.
The State Police Impaired Driving Reduction Effort Team (SPIDRE) will also be in full force.
Last year, the SPIDRE Team made 17 DUI arrests.
According to the Maryland Department of Transportation, in 2017, 558 people died on Maryland roads and roughly one-third of those deaths involved impaired driving.
Police are urging those attending St. Patrick's Day gatherings to have a designated driver.
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