Wichita police will have extra officers looking for impaired drivers in coming weeks

Wichita police are planning to have additional officers patrolling for impaired drivers on Aug. 29 and one other day on or before Sept. 7, Labor Day.

Capt. Brent Allred made the announcement Friday that the Wichita Police Department, using federal grant dollars, will take part in a statewide initiative: “You Drink. You Drive. You Lose.” Usually, the police department conducts DUI checkpoints but will instead use a “saturation patrol” to reduce face-to-face contact during the pandemic, Allred said.

He said there will be six to eight additional officers and a supervisor on August 29.

In 2018, the department wrote almost 2,600 DUI citations, Allred said; roughly 2,200 in 2019 and, through July this year, has written nearly 1,300.