Police brief council on holiday DUI task force, enforcement gaps and polysubstance challenges

Montgomery County Police briefed the County Council March 3, 2025, on the department’s holiday alcohol task force, trends in impaired driving and traffic fatalities, and enforcement challenges around polysubstance impairment and evidence in court.

“Over the years, you know, you've seen our numbers. They've they've unfortunately dropped off a little bit from where we were, several years ago,” Assistant Chief Dave McBain said, describing a multi‑factor decline in DUI enforcement that the department attributes in part to staffing shortages and training gaps during the COVID period. McBain said the department has been reintroducing advanced training and a renewal of standardized field sobriety testing to improve officers’ readiness.

The holiday task force — typically run in November and December with Montgomery County officers augmented by allied agencies — focuses on DUI and DUID detection. Montgomery County officials reported…