In the months since then, however, LPD spokesman Steve Davis tells us the number of DUIDs have been inching upward, with alcohol and drug busts running neck and neck.
See also: Marijuana: At least 75 Percent of DUIs in One Colorado City Involve Alcohol, Not Pot
This past weekend, the Lakewood Police Department joined the Colorado State Patrol and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office in conducting a DUI checkpoint. The location, Wadsworth south of Bowles, was chosen "due to the high number of DUI arrests made in the general vicinity in recent months," the post reveals.In the first four hours of the checkpoint's operation, eight DUI arrests were made, and Davis says that number is fairly typical.
"When we do a DUI checkpoint, a good average is contacting 2,500 to 3,000 cars," he notes. "And I don't think I've seen the number of arrests in double digits. Usually it's four, six, eight: somewhere in that neighborhood. So overall, the percentage is very, very low."
However, he goes on, "we're seeing what I think I can safely say is a little increase in driving under the influence of drugs -- specifically marijuana."
Davis uses the data from a July 26 checkpoint as an example. By his count, "we contacted 2,996 cars and arrested six people. Three of them were for DUI and three were for DUID."
At this point, Davis doesn't have the breakdown for the most recent checkpoint; when he passes along that information, we'll update this post. Until then, there's no telling if the latest tally supports this trend or not. But lately, he says, "the arrests have been more fifty-fifty than they used to be."
Here's a document laying out the Lakewood DUI statistics for 2009 through 2013.
Send your story tips to the author, Michael Roberts.
