Dallas Morning News

Garland police stepped up DWI enforcement during the holidays. Here are the results

This story, originally published in The Dallas Morning News, is reprinted as part of a collaborative partnership between The Dallas Morning News and Texas Metro News. The partnership seeks to boost coverage of Dallas’ communities of color, particularly in southern Dallas.

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Published

January 6, 2022

The initiative led to 31 arrests and 18 citations.

Officer Stephen Burres III watches for drunken drivers near a liquor store on Northwest Highway during a DWI patrol in Irving.(Nathan Hunsinger / Staff Photographer)

By Francesca D’Annunzio

During the holiday season, Garland police increased driving-while-intoxicated enforcement efforts.

The enforcement period began on Dec. 17 and ended Saturday. The increased patrol period was funded by a Texas Department of Transportation grant.

The department’s extra patrols resulted in 31 DWI arrests and 18 citations, authorities said in a news release.

The period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s is the most-traveled time of the year, and most people plan to take their trips by road, according to AAA. The holiday period is also one of the busiest for bars and nightclubs, according to Texas Bar and Nightclub Alliance. DWI-related crashes also increase during the holiday season, Dallas police say.

From Dec. 1, 2020 to Jan. 1, 2021 more than 2,400 alcohol-related crashes were reported statewide, causing more than 90 deaths and 200 serious injuries. In 2020, 5% of crashes — and 25% of traffic fatalities — in the state were alcohol-related, the Texas Department of Transportation reported.

Breaking news reporter Maggie Prosser contributed to this report.