During its Thanksgiving STEP Campaign from November 14 – November 27, the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office supplemented its regular patrol schedule by thirteen (13) additional hours with a focus on impaired driving enforcement. As a result of the increased enforcement, the extra patrol details made two DUI arrests, issued three speeding tickets, and made one arrest for a suspended driver’s license. Regular patrol units issued 12 speeding tickets, 16 moving violations, and made three other DUI arrests.

Financed through a Sustained Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office was able to increase traffic safety enforcement – namely impaired driving enforcement – during its Thanksgiving campaign. This effort marked the first in a series of similar campaigns the Sheriff’s Office will be conducting during the holiday seasons over the next year. The Sheriff’s Office was awarded $7,659.45 from the State’s Division of Traffic Safety to be used for these enhanced safety restraint and impaired driving enforcement efforts. This is the second year the Sheriff’s Office has received funds through the STEP grant.

The purpose of STEP is to lower the incidence of motor vehicle crashes – and their resulting injuries and fatalities – through increased highly visible enforcement of safety belt use and impaired driving during national and state enforcement campaigns. The stepped-up, year-long traffic enforcement focuses on specific times of year and on specific times of day when data shows impaired driving and unbuckled fatalities are highest. The increased patrol presence deters potential impaired drivers and potential unbuckled drivers. Through the STEP campaign, increased traffic enforcement has a positive impact on reducing serious injuries and fatalities on our roads.

For more information on the STEP grant, please call the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office at 697-8515.