POCATELLO — An extra police presence over the New Year’s Eve holiday helped to ensure there were no crashes in the Gate City related to impaired drivers, police say.

Pocatello Police Lt. Trent Whitney says the Pocatello Police Department activated five of its traffic team members to work on New Year’s Eve, resulting in over 80 traffic stops and six arrests for driving under the influence.

One of the officers worked from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. and the other four officers were on duty from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m., Whitney said.

“People can drink and drive anytime of the day and year, but most DUIs occur when the bars are packed, which tends to happen around the New Year holiday,” Whitney said.

Though Pocatello police arrested six people for driving under the influence on New Year’s Eve and early New Year’s Day, not one traffic collision occurred in the Gate City as a result of impaired driving, Whitney said.

“We had a full staff of officers who were responding to calls for service, and one of those calls was the shooting near Jack in the Box, so having those five extra traffic officers that focused only on enforcing traffic rules really helped.”

Lt. Rob Butterfield with the Chubbuck Police Department said the agency also had a full staff of officers on duty on New Year’s Eve. Chubbuck police did not make any DUI-related arrests on New Year’s Eve, Butterfield added.

Sgt. Jon Everson of the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office says his agency also did not make any DUI-related arrests between Dec. 31, 2021, and Jan. 3, 2022.

Idaho State Police District 5 troopers made one DUI-related arrest on New Year’s Eve, according to state police spokesperson Lynn Hightower.

Additionally, Hightower said there were two reported crashes in District 5, which encompasses Idaho’s southeastern corner and borders Wyoming on the east and Utah on the south, though the crashes are still under investigation and it remains unknown if alcohol use was a factor in either crash.