Despite Halloween celebrations, Dane County sheriff’s deputies only pulled over 13 drunken drivers, which is a slight increase from a typical weekend.

One incident early Sunday morning involved a one-vehicle crash in Deerfield, according to a statement from the Dane County Sheriff’s Department. Upon responding to the crash, the deputies found an empty vehicle. The driver, a 21-year-old Sun Prairie female, later called to report her car stolen, but ended up admitting to having crashed it.

The deputies pulled over a Deerfield man Sunday for driving while intoxicated and after a K9 search found THC in the vehicle. The man, who had an active warrant against him from Rock County, was arrested, the statement said.

Dane County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Elise Schaffer said the department made no particular drunken driving crackdown effort over the weekend.

The number of officers assigned to patrol the roads — six to 10 officers — was the same as any other weekend, she said.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving State Policy Specialist Frank Harris said he believes the arrests over the weekend, which in some cases involved drivers with second and third offenses, reflect a larger problem throughout the state.

“The continued arrests of drunk drivers in Wisconsin just reinforces the notion that drunk driving remains an epidemic in Wisconsin,” Harris said.

In 2008, there were more than 42,000 drunken driving convictions in Wisconsin, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Furthermore, 234 people were killed and more than 4,000 injured as a result of alcohol-related crashes.

The “epidemic” of drunken driving, Harris said, necessitates legislative action.

“Now more than ever, it is important the Wisconsin state Legislature acts on strong legislation that will reform drunk driving laws in Wisconsin,” Harris said.

The Wisconsin state Legislature is currently considering a proposal that would make a first operating while intoxicated offense, which is now treated as a traffic citation, a crime.

“The majority of people who are arrested for DUIs in Wisconsin are people with no prior convictions or arrests,” Harris said. “There needs to be something stronger that will deter people from driving drunk in the first place.”

Harris said the Halloween weekend arrests reinforce “the call for reform,” for which MADD will continue to fight.

“MADD is not going to stop until drunk driving is eliminated in not only Wisconsin, but throughout the United States,” Harris said.