Drunken driving arrests and accidents were up over the last two weeks compared to 2007's holiday season, according to statistics released from Connecticut Police Chiefs Association as part of statewide efforts to make the holidays safe for everyone.

CPCA President and East Hampton Police Chief Matthew Reimondo said statistics have been solicited from their members for the past six years to make the public aware of what local police are doing to keep them safe.

"We want to make sure the roads are safe for the people that do obey the laws, especially families that are traveling for holidays," Reimondo said. "There were quite a few DUI arrests, which is concerning."

The statistics are from 75 percent of the 106 members of the organization that reported activity from Dec. 24 through Jan. 4. There were 10,668 traffic stops made by police, resulting in 268 DUI arrests. During the same period last season, there were 209 DUI arrests.

The weather played a role in the number of accidents throughout that time period. There were 2,793 accidents this holiday season, up from 1,956 during the same period last year. With the increase in accidents there were also three fatalities

Reimondo said the way police approach the increased efforts varies by department. Some increased patrols while others conducted sobriety checkpoints. Departments without the funding for additional manpower tried to increase awareness by putting up posters around their towns asking people to not drink and drive.

Wallingford Police Lt. Marc Mikulski said his department had used money from a Department of Transportation grant to increase the number of officers on patrol during that period. Mikulski said they apply for the grant every year.

"I think that just seeing a police car out there has some kind of deterrent effect," Mikulski said. "There were no fatalities in the area so our enforcement efforts may be the cause of that."

Wallingford had 178 traffic stops, 17 more than the previous year, and made five DUI arrests which is one more than last year.

In Southington, police had nearly 30 less traffic stops but had one additional DUI arrest than the previous year with three arrests. Sgt. Lowell DePalma said the focus was similar to Wallingford's to have an increased officer presence on the roads during the holidays.

"Our thing was concentrated patrols. We had people going out specifically to make motor vehicle stops," DePalma said. "That is part of their normal job but during the holiday season our administrators want a more concentrated effort to check for speeders and drunk drivers."

Police Chief Michael Cruess of Cheshire said that while they did not have the budget to increase patrols, they dropped off posters delivering a message about not drinking and driving with all businesses that have a liquor license and asked them to put it up. The traffic stops in Cheshire were down slightly with 72 traffic stops and one DUI arrest.

"It either means we didn't catch them or it is working. I tend to think it is working," Cruess said. "Around the holidays there is a much more heightened sense of awareness to not drink and drive in part because of publicity such as the Police Chiefs Association put out."

Accidents jumped in all three towns compared to the same time period in 2007. Wallingford had 23 more accidents this season with a total of 65. Southington had 54 accidents, up from the 34 last year and Cheshire had eight more with 27. Cruess said the weather played a large role in the accident statistics, especially the snow storm on New Year's Eve.

With the holiday effort behind them, all departments said it is important to keep sending the message about drunken driving to residents.

"We can't forget that when the holidays are over not to go back into our shells," Cruess said.

Although the Meriden Police Department is part of the CPCA, the department did not report statistics to them. Officials could not be reached for comment about their efforts or statistics during the holiday season. Reimondo said some departments do not have the time to send out statistics due to an increased workload the holiday season usually brings. He was glad the departments increased the efforts to keep people safe in the difficult weather conditions.

"It's a team effort between all law enforcement," Reimondo said. "This is a way to get our information out there to let the public know what our municipal police are doing."

rrathsack@record-journal.com

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