OLYMPIA – The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) recognized the Puyallup Police Department with the LCB Partnership in Public Safety Award for their effort in capturing Place of Last Drink (POLD) data during fiscal year 2018. POLD data is recorded during impaired driving arrests and provides valuable insight into where alcohol over service may have occurred.
“We depend on our fellow law enforcement partners to enter this data,’ said LCB Enforcement Chief Justin Nordhorn, “their participation plays a crucial role in preventing over-service and impaired driving. We’d like to commend Puyallup PD for their dedication to safe communities in Washington State.”
Puyallup PD had the highest (weighted) rate of data collection per arrest in all of Washington.
“While it is nice to be recognized as an agency by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board,” said Puyallup Police Chief Scott Engle, “the credit really goes to our officers who work tirelessly to arrest impaired drivers. They are the ones who are truly making our community safer day in and day out.”
The collected data assists the LCB in deploying resources and services, such as additional oversight and education for licensees and staff on alcohol over service prevention. Reducing the over service of alcohol not only helps prevent impaired driving and related traffic collisions, but other alcohol related community harms such as fights, domestic violence, and sexual assaults. National studies have shown 50 percent of impaired drivers originate from liquor licensed businesses.
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