Fewer charges don’t mean less impaired driving: Sarnia police

Fewer impaired driving charges in Sarnia to start 2024 don’t mean there’s been less impaired driving, the city’s police deputy chief says.

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What a dip usually means is fewer calls from the public, and less time for enforcement programs like RIDE (Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere), said Julie Craddock.

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“It’s just an important reminder that the stats don’t always speak to the actual depth of the issue,” she said.

As of mid-April, police had laid 26 impaired charges in Sarnia this year.

That’s down about 24 per cent from the first 3 1/2 months in 2023, said police chief Derek Davis.

A big reason is because of limited officer availability to do “proactive policing,” he said.

Calls for service were up 12 per cent in 2023, compared to 2022, Davis said recentlyand police interacted with the public more than 32,000 times.

Sarnia is also in the top 25 per cent in Ontario’s crime severity index, Davis said.

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“This is a busy community in terms of calls for service,” Craddock said. “Our members are going a lot of the time from call to call.”

Police receive provincial funding to do RIDE spot checks at various times during the year, she said, noting there were 340 hours dedicated to the program between last July and March 2024.

RIDE hours are fairly consistent year after year, based on the grant funding, she said.

“The thing with impaired driving is a lot of times, unless it’s being called in by a member of the public” or detected by proactive efforts like RIDE stops, charges don’t happen, she said.

“We do put out posts and occasional reminders that impaired driving is a crime in progress,” she said. “It does warrant a call to 911.”

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