Monroe County, Bloomington area to see heavy patrols, sobriety checkpoints for holiday travel
Bloomington police and other local agencies will boost traffic enforcement from Nov. 26 through year’s end, staffing sobriety checkpoints and conducting saturation patrols as part of Indiana’s Safe Family Travel campaign. A B Square review found about 5% of recent jail bookings involved OWI charges.
From Wednesday (Nov. 26), the day before Thanksgiving, through the end of the year, area motorists will see increased enforcement of laws on drunk driving, aggressive driving, and seat belt violations.
That’s according to a news release issued by Bloomington's police department on Monday (Nov. 24).
The ramped up enforcement will be done by Bloomington and Ellettsville police, Monroe County sheriff’s deputies, and Indiana University police, who will in some cases be working overtime to staff sobriety checkpoints and run “saturation patrols” to increase law-enforcement visibility, according to the release.
The local effort comes in coordination with the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI) as part of the annual Safe Family Travel campaign, which is supported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Quoted in the news release is Bloomington police sergeant Garrett Mitchell: “Driving safely is a shared responsibility. If you plan to drink, plan a safe ride home. Stay sober behind the wheel or arrange a sober ride before the night begins.”
The news release encourages people to call 911 to report unsafe or impaired drivers.
A B Square review of 4,590 book-in records for the Monroe County jail, between June 1, 2024 and Oct. 31, 2025 found that about 5% of them (242) were for people charged with OWI (operating while intoxicated).
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