This weekend, the Chicago Police Department is ramping up its efforts to curb drunk driving in the 5th (Calumet) District with a DUI Saturation Patrol slated for Saturday from 6:00 p.m. until Sunday at 2:00 a.m., as reported by the department. The initiative focuses on deploying roving officers to keep a close watch on traffic, looking for signs of impaired driving and other infractions, such as speeding or seatbelt violations.
In addition to traditional patrols, technology will play a key role; equipped vehicles will be on hand to catch those driving at excessive speeds, and the Breath Alcohol Testing (BAT) Mobile Unit is expected to be utilized for rapid DUI charges, making the process more efficient and potentially maximizing the impact of the operation. No specific results of past DUI Saturation Patrols have indicated a significant prevalence of alcohol-impaired driving, for example, the effort in the 9th (Deering) District on August 30-31 did not yield any DUI arrests, but did nevertheless result in various other citations and violations including unsafe vehicle and insurance violations along with driver's license issues, according to the official announcement.
