From Bill Lindelof:
Yuba County got a taste of saturation coverage Saturday by the California Highway Patrol that other areas have also recently experienced.
The result: 40 arrested for suspicion of drunken driving, driving while under the influence of drugs -- and riding a bicycle while impaired.
Over the past few months, the CHP has pulled officers from several areas into designated communities to cut down on drunken driving. The CHP calls the strike force operation "Rapid Apprehension of Impaired Drivers" -- RAID.
The department pays for the extra effort with grant money to fund officer overtime. RAID is conducted in communities the department knows have high numbers of DUI-related traffic accidents.
At a minimum, 10 units with two officers in each squad car rove around, backed by a fully-staffed command post.
Statistics from past RAID deployments include:
- North Sacramento, 50 arrests, September 2007
- Auburn , 30 arrests, September 2007
- Stockton, 52 arrests, November 2007
- North Sacramento, 46 arrests, Dec. 2007
- South Sacramento, 87 arrests, March 2008
- North Sacramento, 50 arrests, April 2008
- Stockton, 64 arrests, May 2008
- South Sacramento, 50 arrests, May 2008
- Placerville, 25 arrests, June 2008
The majority of the arrests Saturday and early Sunday morning were in unincoporated Yuba County, said CHP officer Carlos Lejarza.
"I wish we could do this more often," Lejarza said. "It sends out a message that we are serious."


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