After years of pushing for proactive enforcement, the Utah County Sheriff's Office recently announced a significant increase in DUI and drug arrests.

Sgt. Jeff Jones said numbers have increased over the last three years, mainly due to enforcement in the canyon areas. According to a news release, 215 citations for DUI offenses were issued between January and October of this year, up from 138 for the entire year of 2006. Alcohol arrests are also up to 591 from 368 in 2006 and drug arrests are up to 552 from 475.

Jones said proactive enforcement in the canyon areas has made a big difference for safety, though it has not always been well-received. People often suggest the officers should focus more on "real crime," but Jones said the drinking and drug use in the canyons has a marked effect on other areas in the county.

"The problem is these are the same guys that come back and drive through the cities," he said.

Keeping an eye out for partiers in the area has also helped save the lives of people involved in criminal activity. Jones said one woman made the mistake of mixing harmful substances at a party and became violently ill. Had officers not arrived and helped the woman, she may not have survived.

"We've had several instances where we [air lifted] somebody," he said.

The enforcement in the canyons covers more than 1,800 square miles and constantly moves as law-breakers find new locations. Jones said one direct result of the enforcement has been keeping raves out of the area. Jones said officers would not have been able to control the problem without proactive enforcement.

"The push to have raves in Utah County was fairly strong, and the sheriff decided to push back," he said.

Jones said the two enforcement teams in the canyon areas focus on impairment, such as drugs and alcohol. However, as those crimes are fought, other related crimes like vandalism and assaults are also reduced.

He said three arrests in the last two weeks show how crimes in the canyon areas can affect the rest of the county. In one recent incident, Jones said a man was arrested who had heroin, cocaine and opiates and also had ingested other drugs. The man was just getting ready to drive through Orem and Provo, where a serious accident could have occurred.

"He was definitely impaired," Jones said. "He had two other people with him -- he had a juvenile with him."

Another individual was also arrested while heading to Payson with narcotics, and a man in Lehi was arrested with several different drugs. Jones said the drugs that were taken could very well have been distributed to youth in the county.

"How many lives have we affected just by that little bit of drugsfi" he asked.

Sgt. Spencer Cannon said crimes increase in the canyons every spring when a new crop of youth starts using drugs and alcohol in the area. However, continual enforcement moves such activity out of the canyons as offenders realize there is a police presence. Cannon said raves are the best example of what enforcement has done, as the parties are still seen in Sevier, Sanpete and Juab counties on occasion, but not in Utah County.

Despite the success of the enforcement teams, the canyon teams recently have been in jeopardy due to budget shortages in the county. Sheriff Jim Tracy said five of the 10 officers on the teams may have been lost with budget cuts, but adjustments have made it possible to keep them for the time being. If Tracy's new budget is approved by the County Commission, he said 13 administrative positions will be eliminated, but no officers will be taken away.

"The public expects to see a deputy on the road, and that will still be the case," he said.

Tracy said a study he conducted in 2003 to determine the public's use of the canyons found a daily average of 20,000 people in the canyons. Throughout the year, American Fork Canyon alone had 1.25 million visitors. Tracy said the study showed 20 more officers were needed in the area and eventually five were added. From past experience, if that small force was removed, the canyons would again be filled with crime.

Tracy said there was a reduction of enforcement nearly 10 years ago, and as a result the canyons saw a dramatic increase in thefts, intoxication and other crimes.

"It took us almost about a good year to get that back under control," he said.