It’s official. The reports from the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety are in and they show an increase in DUI arrests over the 4th of July weekend from last year. Not just a small increase…27%! There were 534 arrests made in 2014 compared to 421 in 2013. Arrests involving underage DUI’s and driving under the influence of drugs were both up from 2013 as well.
One of the main reasons why the numbers jumped up so high this year is because of the amount of local law officers who participated. There were more officials on duty and more officers patrolling than there were last year. Last year’s number of officers and deputies on patrol was 1445…this year it went up to 2237.
This increase of law enforcement involvement indicates that the state of Arizona is not backing down or easing off their attack on DUI offenders. It’s still as big of an issue as ever and state leaders are taking it very seriously. As the 4th of July holiday neared, law enforcement agencies across the state took the necessary steps to ensure they could meet the needs of DUI patrols. This included applying for federal and state funding to pay overtime funds for personnel and placing more officers on duty.
For the most part, law enforcement agencies believe that the more officers there are on patrol and the more traffic stops they are able to make, the better they will be at preventing accidents and tragedies. By increasing their numbers, they’re able to cover more ground statewide.
In addition to DUI arrests, child-restraint citations, seat-belt citations and traffic stops all went up as well.
At Naegle & Crider Criminal Defense Attorneys, we sincerely hope that you never have to face DUI charges. But mistakes do happen, and when they do, we want you to know that we’re here to help. Ideally, we can work with you to get you past this experience and back to the way things were before. We start by doing a thorough investigation into the incident and learning as much as we can about the circumstances surrounding your case.
From there, experienced criminal law attorney Charlie Naegle will put together a strong defense for you. His knowledge of the court system will work to your favor as he works to have charges dropped or lessened. He understands how courts and prosecutors view cases and will use this as advantage to help you see a solid outcome.
If you have questions about DUI charges, please don’t hesitate to give us a call today.