Tampa Police DUI Patrols Run All Halloween Weekend After an Underage-Drinking Operation Refers 14 to Diversion
Tampa police began enhanced DUI patrols overnight into Halloween weekend, and an underage-drinking operation in downtown Tampa referred 14 people to an arrest diversion program, the city says.
Tampa police are out in force for Halloween weekend. The Tampa Police Department's DUI Unit began enhanced DUI patrols overnight leading into the weekend, including an underage-drinking operation in downtown Tampa, according to a City of Tampa release posted October 30.
The underage enforcement operation referred 14 individuals to an arrest diversion program, the city said. Beginning Friday night, October 30, the enhanced patrols expand throughout neighborhoods and popular entertainment districts citywide for the rest of the weekend — the same weekend that brings Halloween crowds to Ybor City and the downtown core, a noon USF home game on Saturday and a DUI checkpoint on the Treasure Island Causeway on Halloween night.
For Tampa Bay drivers, the weekend picture is now layered: city DUI patrols across Tampa, the Treasure Island Causeway checkpoint from 8 p.m. Saturday to 3 a.m. Sunday, and a forecast that keeps Saturday night warm and mostly dry before Sunday's rain. The practical guidance from every agency working the weekend is the same — plan a sober ride before the first drink, and expect enforcement to be visible in the entertainment districts until the weekend closes.
