Derbyshire Police see rise in drink and drug offences

They say drink and drug driving arrests are up by 21% from the previous year

Author: Maisie MarstonPublished 16th Aug 2022

There has been a rise in drink and drug driving offences so far this year according to Derbyshire Police.

They say 486 arrests for drink and drug driving were made between 1st January and 31st July this year, up by 21% from the previous year.

Already in 2022 there have been five fatal collisions involving drivers under the influence of drink or drugs, three of which involved young drivers.

This week the force have launched a campaign to crack down on drink and drug driving and have put extra officers on to deal with incidents.

Sergeant Scott Riley, from Derbyshire Police's Roads Policing Unit, says: "If you do see somebody drink driving then please report it to 101. If they're leaving immediately please ring 999 and we will allocate people and officers to go out to deal with that incident because it is a matter of road safety."

He also says people are less aware of drug driving.

"People don't understand or appreciate that because drugs are illegal per se, there is no lower limit. If you just show a trace of drugs you are over the driving limit. But also drugs are slightly different to drink in that they will stay in your system for one or two days."

Derbyshire Police say you should not consider driving if you have had alcohol or drugs.