Holiday Crime Blotter: DUIs and Celebratory Gunfire

Despite Metro's free service Christmas and New Year's Eve weekend (but really, how well was it advertised?), the holidays brought more drunk drivers to jail than last year, which may have been due to the increased LAPD presence on the road. “We arrested 135 drivers over the three-day Christmas weekend, and 184 over the New Year’s weekend. Unfortunately, not everyone is getting the message about driving responsibly,” said LAPD spokesman Lieutenant Paul Vernon.

The modern day cowboys who rung shot in the new year with their machine guns and RPGs or whatever also brought an increase in numbers. “Reports of shooting in the air increased this year, to 240, compared to last year’s 145 reports,” said Vernon. “It rained heavily on New Year’s Eve 2005, which kept more people inside. This year it was clear, so more people were out. The good news is the 240 reports were still lower than two years ago when 376 reports were called in.”

These reports do not include CHP or Los Angeles Sheriffs
Photo by James Scherber via Flickr