Henderson police increasing patrols to target impaired drivers

The Henderson Police Department will beef up its patrol starting Friday through the holiday season to target impaired drivers.

The enforcement program called Joining Forces will be divided into two series, the first of which will kick off Friday a week before the Nevada Day holiday weekend and will last through Nov. 4.

Henderson police will dedicate extra officers for enforcement during the period “with the aim of reducing tragedies caused by people driving while impaired,” the department said Thursday.

The second period of beefed-up patrol will run from Dec. 18 through New Year’s Day, police said.

Ahead of the campaign, the department reminded the public to appoint designated drivers and take a taxi or use ride-sharing companies to avoid potentially deadly accidents.

Last month, local law enforcement agencies called on the public to step up after an uptick in deadly DUI crashes between Aug. 31 and Sept. 7, a period in which 16 fatal crashes occurred, according to the state’s Office of Traffic Safety. At least nine of the crashes were in Clark County, and officials suspect about half were DUI-related, Las Vegas Review-Journal records show.

Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.