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Downtown Sacramento Bars Having Their Biggest Night Of The Year

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - The festivities are underway all over downtown where businesses and law enforcement have been preparing for one of the busiest nights of the year.

The CHP is hitting the road for what they call maximum enforcement this New Year's Eve.

"There are going to be times when someone is taken to jail or is under the influence and that takes time so we make sure there are officers for extra coverage," said Officer Greg Zumstein.

Zumstein is patrolling highways and city streets. On Tuesday night, CBS13 rode along with him as he looked for those breaking the law. Our first stop was for a speeder who was tailgating. It ended with a warning. The second stop resulted in the driver being cited for an expired license and no insurance. It's not just cars-new motorized scooters downtown are under increased scrutiny.

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"If someone on a scooter is riding down the middle of the street riding in circles or weaving in and out of traffic -- those are things they are not allowed to do so we can stop that person," said Zumstein.

Bars too are on the lookout making sure they don't overserve revelers.

"We have been doing this a long time," said Collin Wong, manager at the Park.

They spend weeks preparing for one of the biggest nights of the year. The venue is expecting 800 people.

"We capped it at a certain amount for crowd control. Hosts come in early to help set up as a precaution," said Wong.

Doormen take extra precautions.

"We actually use something called Patron Scan, so we physically scan the ID and take a picture of every guest who enters our building," said Wong.

"Yes, even out today we saw more asking for IDs," said Mersedeh Gorjani.

A family from the Bay Area says they noticed the security measures inside and out.

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"We did see a lot of CHP going down the street," said one family member.

They say it made them feel more secure as they celebrate the New Year.

The Hyatt downtown is also having a huge celebration with 1,000 people. Sacramento police say they have extra personnel throughout the area but would not say exactly how many.

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