For Immediate Release

November 4, 2021

Successful year-long campaign targeting impaired drivers sees increase in DUI arrests

The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office today announced results of a yearlong impaired driving saturation campaign.

The campaign, funded by a Nevada Office of Traffic Safety Impaired Driving grant, allowed for targeted traffic patrols which were held on Friday and Saturday nights from November of 2020 – September of 2021. The Friday and Saturday night saturation patrols resulted in a more than 16% increase in impaired driving arrests during the same period the previous year. This year, the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office effectuated 147 impaired driving arrests on Friday and Saturday nights. During the same nights and timeframe in 2019 – 2020 the Sheriff’s Office made 126 impaired driving arrests.

Impaired driving grant funded enforcement statistics:
DUI arrests: 18
            – Alcohol: 14
            – Drugs: 3 
            – Marijuana: 1 

Second offense: 1

Standardized Field Sobriety Tests conducted: 19

Refusal for evidentiary: 6

Speed citations: 30

Running red light citations: 9

Using cell phone / distracted driving citations: 42

Other citations: 59

Impaired driving crashes: 3

Total number of traffic stops: 266

The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office has again been awarded $35,000 from the Nevada Office of Traffic Safety for targeted impaired driving saturation patrols for November 2021 – October 2022.

Deputy Cade Goodman

Public Information Officer