St. Patrick’s Day festivities triggered a crackdown on DUIs by the Georgia State Patrol, in conjunction with the University Police and Athens-Clarke County police.

There were 63 arrests between Tuesday night and Thursday morning, out of more than 700 cars stopped. Of the arrests, 19 were University faculty or students.

The various checkpoints, which ran from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m., were located in problem areas such as Lumpkin Street at Carlton Street, Lexington Road at the Ga. 10 Loop, and North Avenue

“The reason we did this across the nation is that the highway safety transportation board showed that 38 percent of fatalities on St. Patrick’s Day are alcohol related,” Sgt. Al Whitworth of the Georgia State Patrol said in a Thursday interview. “We decided to do a combined effort with Athens-Clarke County and the University of Georgia and we did a concentrated effort to target DUI drivers.”

The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety issued earlier this week a media release for police departments to increase vigilance during the St. Patrick’s Day festivities.

However, University Police Chief Jimmy Williamson said his department does checkpoints year round and looks for more than just DUIs.

“When we do safety road checks, [DUIs are] not our top priority,” Williamson said.

He said the checkpoints, which are done four to six times a year, are in an effort to make the roads safe, not to give out citations.

“If they yield DUIs, then that’s what they yield. Our goal is to make the Georgia roads safe. If we get out there and do not give out any citations, then that is successful because the roads are safe,” Williamson said.

Williamson pointed out the various other crimes – such as seatbelt violations and driving without insurance – that are also caught in the safety checkpoints.

“I’m hoping people will drive safely every day,” Williamson said. “The point of the safety checks is to make sure all laws are being followed.”

Normally the task is done with the help of ACC Police since so many officers are required for a strong checkpoint. For example, the East Campus checkpoint had 12 University officers, along with those from the State Patrol.

“One reason the numbers were so high is we had a number of officers we normally don’t have,” Whitworth said. “We brought troopers in.”

Williamson said the additional troopers will not be present for checkpoints this weekend.