WHO AND WHAT

What are the Avoid Campaigns?
We are holiday law enforcement campaigns against drinking and drugged drivers in the San Francisco Bay Area. Together, we present a solid wall of approximately 12,000 officers from 121 police agencies in Alameda County, San Mateo County, Sonoma County, and San Francisco County, Napa County, Solano County, Marin County, Santa Clara County, and Contra Costa County.

We hold sobriety checkpoints, staff regional high-intensity Strike Teams and Warrant Teams, flood the freeways with CHP officers, add overtime hours, from special departmental teams, and emphasize DUI enforcement with officers on regular beats.

We run an aggressive, multiple-award winning news bureau that regularly achieves media saturation. We also conduct four-day Memorial Day, Labor Day, and Independence Day Campaigns, as well as a 3-week Winter campaign.

Who funds and sponsors us?
The California Office of Traffic Safety funds the campaigns through the Business, Transportation, and Housing Agency. Sponsors are the associations of law enforcement executives in each of the 9 participating counties.

How many departments participated in the campaigns? 121

How many city police departments do we have on board? 83

How many offices at the CHP? 11

How many sheriffs’ offices? 9

How many educational institutions? 10
Ten educational institutions participate in the campaign, including: University of San Francisco, UC Berkeley, UC San Francisco, San Francisco Community College District, West Valley – Mission Community College District, California State University Sonoma, California State University San Francisco, California State University Hayward, California State University San Jose, and the Santa Rosa Junior College District.

How many specialized police departments? 8
The following specialized agencies participate in the Avoid campaigns: BART Police, East Bay Regional Park District Police, Airport Bureau of the San Francisco Police Department, Federal Protection Service, Postal Inspection Service, US Park Police, Golden Gate Bridge District, and the AmTrack Police.

How many times have we been copied?
The campaign has been copied statewide, and includes the Avoid the 50 campaign in Los Angeles. Other campaigns have also been started in the states of Hawaii and Michigan.

How long was our holiday campaign? 21 days.
It began on December 12, 2003 and ended January 1, 2004.

What are our major weapons?
Aggressive enforcement, sustained interagency cooperation, and strong public information. Aggressive enforcement gives teeth to the public information. Public information gives reach to enforcement. Interagency cooperation holds Avoid Campaigns over the long haul.

Redwood City Police Department’s Impact on Impaired Drive


In 2003, the Redwood City Police Department received a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the Business, Transportation, and Housing Agency for the purchase of a DUI Sobriety Checkpoint Trailer. The 15-month grant program met or exceeded all of its goals and objectives. Arrests for DUI increased 11% during the grant period, primarily through the use of the trailer at sobriety checkpoints.

How many DUI checkpoints and Strike Teams were held during 2003?
The Redwood City Police Department conducted 12 DUI Checkpoints and 12 DUI Strike Team two-officer patrols during 2003.

How many arrests did we make overall?
The total number of DUI arrests made by the Redwood City Police Department during 2003 was 346.

How does this stack up to previous years?
DUI arrests increased 11% from 2002 to 2003. The total number of DUI arrests made by the Redwood City Police Department during 2002 was 309.

How were alcohol-related fatal and injury accidents effected?
Alcohol-related fatal and injury collisions decreased by 26% during the grant period! The total number of alcohol-related fatal and injury collisions investigated by the Redwood City Police Department during 2003 was 20, as opposed to 27 during 2002.

What about fatal and injury accidents where alcohol was not a factor?
The total number of fatal and injury collisions investigated by the Redwood City Police Department during 2003 was 390, as opposed to 456 during 2002. This represents a 15% reduction.

 



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