PHOENIX -- Law-enforcement agencies throughout the state are teaming up for an operation to track down thousands of people wanted on DUI warrants.
Officers have already made about 50 arrests.
Most of the 20,000 warrants have been issued for DUI offenders who failed to make court appearances or did not pay their assessed fines.
Warrants in hand, detectives and officers with the DUI task force are hitting the streets again today. They will be out all weekend.
DUI is something that officers take quite seriously.
"In my experience, I saw an entire family get taken out," said Capt. Daniel Golden of the Department of Public Safety. "There was a vehicle in which they lost a grandmother, a wife, a husband and the lady in the vehicle was actually pregnant. There were seven people killed that I actually had to take out of one vehicle."
In addition to making arrests on those outstanding warrants, officers will be keeping a very close eye on the street and highways, on the lookout for people who might be driving under the influence.
The warrant operation, which will continue for the next several weeks, is funded by the Governor's Office of Highway Safety. The Department of Public Safety, the Phoenix Police Department and Maricopa County Adult Probation are all taking part in the crackdown.
