McMinnville Police Department took advance of the change in prom nights to hold a saturated patrol April 26 to help ensure a safe evening for the celebrating teens.
Unlike past saturated patrols, this one was not announced.
“It was spur of the moment,” said police Lt. Mark Mara. “We found that they had changed the prom date to Saturday night. We figured we would multi-task and hold a saturated patrol on Saturday night during the prom.”
Mara says the department takes every opportunity to educate teens about the dangers of driving impaired, as well as the dangers of getting into a vehicle when the driver is impaired. Mara said the prom on Saturday night was an opportunity officers could not pass up.
Three officers worked the patrol and stopped 14 vehicles. They wrote eight citations and gave four warnings, which included four tickets and two warnings for not wearing seatbelts, and made one arrest for driving on revoked license.
“Importantly, no accidents related to DUIs were reported,” said Mara. “It was a good saturated patrol.”
Officers handed out three ice cream coupons, an incentive effort between the department and McMinnville’s Dairy Queen, to encourage adults to properly restrain their children while they are in the vehicle.
The next scheduled saturated patrol is Memorial Day weekend.