EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Over the Independence Day weekend, four dozen people were arrested in Rhode Island for driving under the influence.

The Rhode Island DUI Task Force announced that it took 35 people into custody for alcohol-related offenses, while R.I. State Police said they made 13 DUI arrests, handed out 607 citations and responded to 60 crashes.

The task force is a joint effort between officers from police departments around Rhode Island as well as R.I. State Police, the R.I. Department of Transportation, and the R.I. Attorney General’s Office.

According to Lt. Donald Barrington from North Kingstown, its sole purpose is to clear the roadways of impaired drivers and cut down on crashes.

The task force typically increases patrols around holidays and long weekends.

Earlier this year, the task force arrested 37 people for alcohol-related offenses over St. Patrick’s Day weekend, while state police separately took another 24 DUI suspects into custody. In May, state police announced 29 DUI arrests over Memorial Day weekend.

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