EDMONTON – The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) released its Checkstop results for 2013, which included 1,905 impaired driving charges and 848 roadside suspensions.
The Checkstop program in Edmonton involves vehicle-stop locations and roving patrols across the city. Its goal is to remove impaired drivers from the road and educating the public about the risks and consequences of drinking and driving.
“For the year of 2013, our numbers were down a little bit from 2012 which is a welcome sight,” said Cst. Robert Davis, with the EPS Impaired Driving Counter Measures Unit.
“We did run fewer Checkstop campaigns just due to some training… So we have fewer shifts than we had in 2012, so our numbers were lower for 2013.”
In 2012, the EPS made 289 impaired arrests through the Checkstop program. In 2013, that number was 200.
“Per shift, our numbers were the same,” explained Davis. “We still had the same amount – unfortunately – of impaired drivers arrested per shift as we did in 2012 to 2013.”
In 2012, EPS conducted 43 operations, while in 2013, 34 operations were done.
“For the most part, Edmontonians are smart and conscious to the fact that impaired driving is a problem, but there is still a small percentage of people out there who are driving while impaired.”
One Checkstop in 2013 stands out in particular for Davis.
“I actually saw the highest reading I’d ever seen in my nine-year career in November, which was a person who provided two samples of over 400 milligrams per cent, and was standing and walking and talking while doing it… it was …quite amazing.”
Meanwhile, keeping the locations of Checkstops has become more difficult because of social media. For several years, Edmonton police have seen people making the locations public on Twitter.
“We know that it’s happening out there,” said Davis. “We’re liquid; we move around, we don’t always sit in the same spot. So, if a Checkstop location is tweeted we have other strategies in place.”
There are no legal repercussions for tweeting a Checkstop location – charges cannot be laid and the person cannot be fined. However, Davis stresses it’s a decision that could endanger many lives.
“In my opinion, and only my opinion, it’s not the morally right thing to do.”
“I live in the city, I have family that lives in the city, and anybody that would tweet to other impaired drivers to avoid being caught by a Checkstop puts us all at risk,” he said. “It doesn’t make any sense to me.”
If you suspect a driver is impaired, please contact police as soon as possible to Curb the Danger:
· Call 911 if it is safe to do so. Calling 911 in an emergency, or to report an impaired driver, is permitted while driving under the distracted driving law.
· Report the location, vehicle description, and licence plate number.
· Keep the vehicle in sight but do not attempt to chase the vehicle, or break the law to do so.
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