As part of the ongoing crackdown on summer drink and drug driving, North Yorkshire Police have conducted over 800 breath tests and made 132 arrests for drink and drug driving throughout June 2016.
These figures represent an increase of 19% on arrests made over the same period last year. So far 17 people have provided breathalyser readings of over 100ug, nearly three times the legal limit of 35ug.
Of the 132 arrests – 45 were for drug driving, a huge increase of 181% on the number of drug driving arrests made in June 2015 (16 arrests).. 38 of the 45 arrests were made thanks to the use of the new roadside drug wipe kits and the fact that more officers than ever are trained to identify the tell-tale signs of drug driving.
The gender split remains very similar to the results recorded over previous campaigns – 84% of those arrested are men and 16% are women.
Of the 132 figure – 11% of those arrested are under 20 years old, 52% are aged between 21 and 35, 24% are aged between 36 and 50, 9% are aged between 51 and 65 and 4% are 65 and over.
Speaking about the campaign to date Sgt Andy Morton of the Roads Policing Group said:
“These figures show that North Yorkshire Police is as determined as ever to ensure that dangerous drink and drug drivers are caught and taken off the roads. With the introduction of the new roadside drug wipe kits we have seen an increase in arrests for drug driving which sends out a clear message to those who choose to ignore our warning – we are out on the roads and equipped to find you, arrest you and send you to court.
“Whilst we welcome the use of tools such as the drug wipe kits, we cannot ignore the vital role that the public play in assisting us identify and arrest drink and drug drivers. During this campaign a number of calls have been received from members of the public which have directly led to arrests being made. I myself made an arrest based on a call from the public and I am absolutely certain that lives have been saved due to these calls. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the public for their actions.
“I’d also like to encourage people to continue to contact us with any information they have about anyone drink or drug driving – your call does make a difference. Please contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 1 and pass the details to the Force Control Room”.
The campaign continues until 10 July 2016..
Arrests by region
Richmond – 8
Harrogate – 29
York – 26
Selby – 8
Scarborough – 33
Ryedale – 13
Hambleton – 8
Craven – 6
Source Credit -Yorkshire Coast Radio