BEND, OR -- Bend Police set a record with drunk driving arrests in 2022, in part, thanks to the DUII team created earlier this year. 

Bend PD’s Sheila Miller says the department puts a large focus on DUII calls because the public has said it should be a priority, “This last year, we created a DUII team and those officers’ entire job is to be out on the roads looking for drunk and high drivers. And they’ve been super successful. We actually had one of our officers named the DUII Officer of the Year for the state of Oregon.”

“As of last week, we were at 615 and I found out over the weekend that we had arrested six more. Last year, we finished the entire year at 509 DUII arrests, so that is a big jump and we still have several weeks; and those weeks tend to be very busy for DUIs,” says Miller.

There could be more arrests before the year’s end, due to holiday gatherings. “People find themselves in a situation where they haven’t made a plan and they aren’t sure how they’re going to get home. You know, there’s just no excuse anymore for people to drive intoxicated in Central Oregon. There are rideshares and cabs,” says Miller.

She says officers are also looking for distracted drivers. “That is akin to driving drunk. You know, if you’re driving and looking at your cell phone and not paying attention, it is the same effect as driving under the influence of alcohol.”