Crime & Safety

'Avoid the 21' DUI Crackdown Begins Aug. 17

The Alameda Police Department and other East Bay law enforcement agencies will be keeping watch for intoxicated drivers.

The Alameda Police Department is among the area law enforcement agencies that will mount "saturation patrols' during Avoid the 21, an 18-day summer mobilization against drunk driving, according to a press release. The Alameda County effort begins on Friday, Aug. 17, and continues through Labor Day weekend.

“This is intense enforcement,” said Lt. Ava Garavatti of the Livermore police, campaign chairwoman. “It says a lot about the 21 police jurisdictions in our county and the seriousness with which we view the often-violent crime of DUI.

Nearly 300 people went to jail for DUI during a similar crackdown last year. The county handcuffed the largest number of DUI suspects in the nine-county Bay Area.

Find out what's happening in Alamedawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Saturation patrols are also set for Albany, Berkeley, California State University-East Bay, Fremont, Newark, Oakland, Pleasanton, San Leandro, UC Berkeley, Union City and the CHP’s Oakland squad.Several police departments also plan DUI checkpoints during the campaign.

Avoid the 21 is funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Find out what's happening in Alamedawith free, real-time updates from Patch.


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