While there is still a lot of work remaining, Estevan Police Chief Paul Ladouceur is pleased with the steps that have been made in combatting impaired driving.
Monthly crime figures for June and July released at last Wednesday’s meeting of the Estevan board of police commissioners showed that there was just one charge for impaired driving by alcohol in June, and just one charge for impaired driving by drug.
Eleven charges for impaired driving by alcohol and one charge for impaired driving by drug were issued in July, but the total of 12 is down from the 25 that were issued in July 2019.
“We said eventually we are going to get those numbers down, and we have to start doing more, and we have been doing more,” said Ladouceur.
Usually a charge for driving while over .08 will also carry a charge for impaired driving, but Ladouceur noted there are times when it won’t happen.
He believes reducing impaired driving has been a community effort. Since a community summit was held in Estevan in February 2018, an Estevan chapter for Mothers Against Drunk Drivers has been created, and the organization placed signs in the community marking where impaired drivers have been caught, creating public awareness. The EPS met with local licensed establishments to get them on board with the fight against impaired driving, and officers held high-visibility check stops in the community.
“We’ve been on social media, talking about the issues around impaired driving. So I think that, combined with the new legislation that has the mandatory roadside screening, where an officer doesn’t need reasonable suspicion, but can stop any driver at any time, and request a breath sample, has created a greater deterrent,” said Ladouceur.
People are seeing the results of what happens if they choose to drive while impaired.
“I’m cautious, though, because we’ve seen dips. Things can evenflow. One of the things that we’re really watching is we’ve seen this decline, but is that a COVID decline? So in other words, are we seeing the numbers drop because there weren’t a whole lot of bars open? And guess what? People weren’t allowed to get together, so guess what? Most people are probably drinking at home and not getting behind the wheel.”
Still, the drop in cases in June occurred during the first month in which restaurants and licensed establishments were able to open again. But Ladouceur wonders how eager people are to get back to their favourite establishment, and he pointed out these establishments aren’t allowed to be at full capacity.
“What we want to see is what does this look like post-COVID? And do we see these numbers continue to go down? We’re … cautiously optimistic … to see the numbers decline, but we also know there could be other factors at play.”
Ladouceur wants to believe that there are other factors at play than just the pandemic, and that people are finally getting the message that impaired driving takes lives and causes injury.
If that’s not the case, the EPS still has a lot of work remaining.
The EPS has held roadside checks since the pandemic started in March. Early on, when there was a lot of uncertainty, the EPS directed its officers to only have interactions with the public when necessary until it could sort how to handle policing in a pandemic.
“We weren’t stopping vehicles for very minor incidents. We weren’t unnecessarily engaging with people, you might say, until we could establish some safety protocols and make sure our members were safe and the public was safe, because transmission could go both ways.”
As the province has started to reopen, and the EPS has introduced some safety procedures, officers have been stopping vehicles more frequently.
In the first seven months of 2020, there have been 52 charges for impaired driving by alcohol and 11 for impairment by drug, compared to 71 for impairment by alcohol and 13 for impairment by drug through July 31, 2019.
“So how many impaired drivers are out there? That’s the thing we have to be mindful of. We have to be careful with statistics, because those are the impaired drivers we’re catching. Does that mean there’s the potential for more to be out there? Of course there is,” said Ladouceur.
“I’d like to believe we catch every impaired driver every time, but that’s not realistic. So I think there’s still a concern and a focus that needs to be paid attention to when it comes to impaired driving, but as long as the numbers are declining, you’ve got a happy chief.”
Police have been dealing with impaired driving long before Ladouceur has been in policing, and he expects the discussion will continue in an effort to find ways to continue to combat the issue.
