Douglas County Sheriff’s officers plan to conduct a saturation patrol on March 17, St. Patrick’s Day, to target alcohol-impaired drivers and enforce traffic laws.

Sgt. Steve Lewis, a sheriff’s spokesman, said the extra patrol during the afternoon and evening of March 17 is a partnership between the sheriff’s office and Kansas Traffic Safety Resource Office called the Impaired Driving Deterrence Program.

The sheriff’s office will have extra deputies assigned to traffic patrol during the holiday. They will also target speeding and seat belt use.

“The goal is to reduce the number of deaths, injuries and the economic cost resulting from motor vehicle crashes in Kansas,” Lewis said.

The sheriff’s office conducted one on St. Patrick’s Day in 2010 that netted one DUI arrest and two other DUI arrests made during regular patrols.

According to Douglas County Jail records, eight people overall last year in Lawrence and Douglas County were arrested on DUI charges on March 17 or early March 18.