Warmer temperatures signal higher shore traffic volume. Ocean County law enforcement aims to see that everyone behind the wheel is sober.

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Ocean County Prosecutor Marlene Lynch Ford today announced a new phase of countywide DWI checkpoints staffed by county and local police in all 33 communities.

In a prepared release, Ford said that officers are assigned to “detect, educate, deter, arrest, and vigorously prosecute” impaired drivers, which she says account for about 33% of the yearly death toll on Ocean County highways and streets.

Ford says that DWI outposts in 2011 drove the number of highway fatalities for the year down to 53, from 58 in 2010.

The checkpoints are funded by the Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety, and will include investigators from the Prosecutor’s Office as well as K-9 teams under the direction of county Sheriff Bill Polhemus.

The Prosecutor’s Vehicular Homicide Unit is led by Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Steve Cucci and Lieutenant Elliot Morgan.

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