Stanislaus County DUI arrests down from last year

A countywide task force as of Saturday afternoon had arrested 23 people on suspicion of driving under the influence in Stanislaus County, which is less than half the DUI arrests made during the same period last year.

The Avoid the 12 campaign is in the middle of an enforcement effort that started Aug. 17 and ends Labor Day. At the same time last year, 55 people had been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

The campaign, which consists of all 12 law enforcement agencies in the county, conducted sobriety checkpoints Friday and Saturday night in Modesto, Ceres and Oakdale and deployed saturation patrols assigned to look for drunken drivers throughout the county.

The enforcement effort is funded by state grants and continues Friday night with a sobriety checkpoint in Turlock and saturation patrols in Modesto.