MONROE - More people were arrested for drunken driving last year than in 2008, according to the annual Green County Sheriff's Department report.

In 2009, there were 119 drunken driving arrests, compared to 92 in 2008, Sheriff Randy Roderick said in his report.

Roderick said the increase may have been because of three grants the sheriff's department received in 2009 to increase enforcement of drunken driving and seatbelt laws. The grants allowed deputies to patrol more, he said.

Roderick delivered his annual report to the Green County Board of Supervisors Tuesday. Roderick also explained the details of the report Thursday in his office.

He keeps records of the incidents the sheriff's department investigates from year to year.

Just more than half the people arrested for drunken driving were twice the legal blood alcohol concentration limit of .08.

Blood alcohol levels for 2009 and 2008 are:

• .08-.09: nine in 2009; 10 in 2008

• .1-.14: 30 in 2009, 26 in 2008

• .15-.19: 24 in 2009, 28 in 2008

• .2-.24: 26 in 2009, 15 in 2008

• .25-.29: seven in 2009, seven in 2008

• .3-.34: one in 2009, two in 2008

• .35 or higher: two in 2009, one in 2008.

Overall, the sheriff's department was busier in 2009 than in 2008, according to the report. The sheriff's department handled 12,526 incidents in 2009, compared to 11,024 in 2008. The incidents include everything from drug arrests and burglaries to boating violations and defective brakes.

In 2009, 885 people were booked into the jail, compared to 854 in 2008 and 784 in 2007.

Roderick wasn't sure why the number increased. He said it's hard to determine exact causes for increases from year to year.

The daily jail population decreased from 55 in 2008 to 52 in 2009. The months with the highest jail population were January, 65 prisoners, and August, 58 prisoners; April and October were the months with the lowest number of prisoners, 45 each.

Roderick was able to determine that the average stay of an inmate was about 15.5 hours. Some of the inmates are in jail for a couple of hours before they are released on bond. Some stay for several months, depending on the sentence imposed by the court.

Last year there were four instances when overcrowding at the jail forced the sheriff's department to send prisoners to Lafayette County. The total cost to house the prisoners in Lafayette County was $3,600.

There were also fewer instances of prisoners out on work release last year, Roderick said. He said the decline in the number was probably a result of the economy.

In 2009, an average of five inmates were out of the jail each day for work release, compared to as many as 15 in 2008.