44 arrested in Buckinghamshire in first 14 days of anti-drink drive campaign
Thames Valley Police have arrested 117 people on suspicion of drink-driving after 14 days (1st to 14th December 2014) of the Christmas anti-drink drug drive campaign. This is down 10% on the 130 arrests made in the same period last year.
The ‘Is it worth the risk?’ campaign was launched on Monday 1st December 2014 and is aimed at targeting drink and drug drivers over the festive period. It is estimated that over 5,500 people have so far been breath tested.
Of those arrested, 93 were men (a 15% decrease) and 24 were female (a 20% decrease). The oldest was a 79 year old man arrested in Bicester on Sunday 14th December 2014 and the youngest were three different 19 year old men arrested in Slough on Wednesday 3rd December 2014 and Aylesbury on Saturday 6th December 2014 for drug-driving and a man arrested for drink-driving in South Oxon on Sunday 14th December 2014. The average age of those arrested was 36.
In total, 58 of the 117 arrested have been charged, 43 have been released on bail pending further enquiries and 16 people have been released with no further action.
The campaign, which runs until Thursday 1st January 2015, will see police targeting individuals they suspect of driving under the influence of drink or drugs, both on the way home from nights out and the morning after a heavy night.
Of the arrests, 46 have been made in Berkshire, 44 in Buckinghamshire and 27 in Oxfordshire.
Chief Inspector for Hampshire Constabulary and Thames Valley Roads Policing Unit, Henry Parsons said: ‘It’s worrying that some people are still making the wrong choices, deciding to drink and drive when there are alternatives available.
I’m grateful for the public support for this campaign that has helped us to be in the right places, at the right times to make these arrests. We’ll continue to target drink drivers every single day of the year, not just during campaign periods. It isn’t worth the risk.‘
The Thames Valley Police ‘Is it worth the risk?’ campaign will be running on Twitter (@ThamesVP) and Facebook to keep you updated.
