150 arrests made during Christmas crackdown on drink and drug driving in Norfolk
Police carried out extra patrols and checks to try to catch people driving under the influence
Police in Norfolk made 156 arrests as part of thier Christmas crackdown on drink and drug driving.
The month long campaign which ran from December 1 2022 until January 1 2023 saw extra patrols and checks carried out on the county's roads, in an attempt to catch people driving under the influence.
A total of 875 motorists were stopped, 18% of whom were arrested.
Of those 76 were arrested on suspicion of drink driving, 59 on suspicion of drug driving.
12 were detained after failing to provide a sample to police. Nine people were arrested for being unfit through drink or drugs.
Chief Inspector Jon Chapman, of the Joint Norfolk and Suffolk Roads & Armed Policing Team, said:
“Unfortunately the necessity for this annual campaign has been proven once again due to the significant numbers of arrests officers have made – on average it equated to almost five people arrested per day.
“I continue to be both dismayed and extremely concerned that so many people are prepared to take such unnecessary risks with their lives and the lives of others, when everyone is fully aware of the dangers of driving whilst under the influence of drink or drugs.
“We joined together with a number of other forces across the country this year to deliver a clear and consistent message around shared responsibility with particular regard to drink-driving, which was: ‘Together We Can Stop It.’
“This aimed to get people to think about the steps that you can take when out drinking with friends and family which could ultimately save a life. If you know someone has had too much to drink and they are going to attempt to drive, you should take action to prevent them from doing so.
“Although we highlight drink and drug driving at this time of year, it is of course something we enforce 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“We will continue to play our part in removing offending drivers from the roads, but we ask members of the public to also do their civic duty at all times – if you have the opportunity to stop someone from getting behind the wheel in the first place, your action could save a life.”
Suffolk Police made 157 arrests during their Christmas drink and drug driving campaign.