JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Fourteen people were arrested during a Jacksonville Sheriff's Office "safety and sobriety checkpoint" on the city's Westside last week.
The checkpoint was held on June 7 in the 9700 block of 103rd Street near Connie Jean Road, an area identified by law enforcement with an "increase in crashes and dangerous driving."
The checkpoint was held from 7:35-9:30 p.m., and was done in accordance with state law on sobriety checkpoints, police said in a news release.
Officers made contact with more than 200 vehicles, resulting in 14 arrests, 30 traffic citations and 120 grams of marijuana seized, according to police.
“Our goals are to diminish the impaired driving problem by increasing the opportunity to detect, apprehend, and deter the impaired driver by selective enforcement of driving under the influence," said Lt. Kenneth Lamb from JSO’s Specialized Traffic Enforcement Unit.
Of the arrests, 10 were for driving under the influence, two for drug possession, one for driving with a suspended license and another was for a reason listed as "other."
Lamb said the checkpoints should "heighten the public awareness to the dangers of driving while under the influence of alcohol, chemical or controlled substances."
He added that the checkpoints were not just aimed at catching drunk drivers, and officers were also ensuring drivers had a valid license, were wearing seat belts and children were in proper safety restraints.
"We all need to collectively take driving safe, in a safe manner, to heart. Make sure that we're doing it right," Lamb said. "All of our families depend on that."
JSO said it will continue conducting operations like the Westside checkpoint to ensure members of the community are safe on the roadways.
Police urge anyone who witnesses potentially impaired or dangerous driving to contact them. JSO's non-emergency number is 904-630-0500.