DUI

Tucson police Officer Chris Morin, left, with the DUI squad, and Officer John Hill take a DUI suspect into custody in this file photo.

Now that the holiday season has begun, the Southern Arizona DUI Task Force has stepped up its efforts to catch drunken drivers during one of the most dangerous times of the year on area roads.

Through the end of the year, law enforcement agencies across Southern Arizona will be deploying saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints every weekend, said Sgt. Dawn Barkman of the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, and president of the task force.

Local agencies will staff officers every night specifically to detect and remove drunken drivers from the roads.

In addition to the sheriff’s department, participating agencies include Tucson, Marana, Oro Valley, University of Arizona, Sierra Vista and Sahuarita police departments.

Law enforcement reminds everyone to designate a sober driver before drinking, or take a taxi or Uber home if you’ve already been drinking.

In 2015, there have already been 10 DUI fatalities in Pima County, Barkman said.


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Contact reporter Caitlin Schmidt at cschmidt@tucson.com or 573-4191. On Twitter: @caitlincschmidt