The King County Sheriff’s Office will be sending out extra patrols in the southeast area of the county this weekend in a continuing effort to keep impaired drivers off the road.

The Sheriff’s Office plans to attack the DUI problem by not only making arrests, but will also educate the public and businesses that sell alcohol in an effort to keep impaired drivers from getting behind the wheel.

The deputies on the extra patrols will begin their shifts stopping by bars in the focus area and telling employees about the DUI emphasis patrols. Deputies will offer suggestions on dealing with intoxicated patrons, options on getting them home safety (friends, taxi’s, etc) and encourage them to call the police if they see an impaired person attempting to drive.

Deputies will spend the remainder of the shift patrolling and looking for impaired drivers. When an arrest is made, if the deputy determines the driver had been drinking at a business, the deputy will contact the business and advise them a customer has been stopped and arrested. Closing the loop with businesses will emphasize the consequences of over-serving and the civil liabilities a business can incur.

This is the second DUI emphasis in as many months in southeast King County. The Sheriff’s Office said more DUI emphasis will be conducted in southeast King County as well as other parts of King County through the rest of the year.

During a similar emphasis in October, two arrests were made, including a 29-year-old woman from Buckley and a 40-year-old Auburn woman. Both had prior DUI arrests and were booked into King County jail.

“DUI’s are expensive in many ways. The most significant costs are the loss of lives, the injuries, and the impact on family and friends of lost victims of DUI’s,” King County Sheriff Sergeant Mark Toner, who organized the emphasis, said in a press release. “These two arrests may have prevented tragedy from occurring.”