1.3K Arrests During Holidays By Extra Police on Maryland Roads

GLEN BURNIE, MD — Extra patrols on highways across Maryland from Thanksgiving through the New Year's holiday resulted in more than 47,000 traffic stops that led to more than 1,300 criminal arrests and almost 700 arrests of impaired drivers, according to Maryland State Police. Troopers began increased holiday traffic enforcement efforts on Nov. 23, that continued through Jan. 2.

During the six-week holiday period, troopers arrested 699 impaired drivers, arrested 623 for criminal offenses and arrested another 724 people who were found to be wanted on warrants, State Police said in a news release.

The arrests occurred during 47,555 traffic stops made by troopers working additional patrols, sobriety checkpoints, saturation patrols, and speed enforcement. Troopers issued 27,149 citations, 31,906 warnings and 6,871 safety equipment repair orders. Officers also wrote 388 civil citations for a variety of offenses.

During the holiday period, troopers responded to 21 fatal crashes. Of those, investigators say two are alcohol-related, two involved people who weren't wearing seatbelts, and four involved pedestrians. Troopers responded to a total of 106 crashes that preliminary investigations indicate were alcohol related; that total doesn't include crashes handled by local police departments.