As part of a statewide DUI enforcement initiative in Arizona, police are cracking down on drunk drivers. According to data released after Labor Day, more people used designate drivers this year compared to last. One might assume that this means there were less DUI arrests made this year compared to last, but there were 16 percent more Labor Day DUIs this year. That’s 582 DUI arrests in total, while the average blood-alcohol content remained the same from last year at .145, according to the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety’s figures.

The DUI enforcement initiative is also aiming to penalize those who drive under the influence of drugs, not just alcohol. Arrests for suspected drug use while driving was up 21 percent from last Labor Day, which is a total of 103 people.

The amount of people under the age of 21 that were drinking this Labor Day weekend also grew from 2013. Police gave out almost twice as many citations to underage drinkers as they did last year.

In an effort to keep Arizona citizens safe, nearly 2,000 officers helped to police the streets of Arizona this Labor Day weekend. The long holiday can be a dangerous time when people are drinking during the day at barbecues or while watching football games. With so much alcohol-related activity, the risk of alcohol-related accidents or fatalities spikes. To control the risk, Arizona law enforcement officials established checkpoints on major roads and patrolled popular streets to deter people from driving under the influence and to arrest those who are driving drunk or on drugs.

The reports tallied up the number of arrests and citations Thursday through Monday. The Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety reported the final results that confirmed the law enforcement officials were doing their job to keep dangerous drivers off the roads.