Police Chief Paul Ladouceur believes local residents are getting the message when it comes to the Estevan Police Service’s (EPS) ongoing crackdown on impaired driving.
The EPS held check stops throughout the community on Friday and Saturday night. Friday was the bigger of the two, as several police agencies teamed up to check more than 700 motorists. None of the drivers were impaired.
“Over the course of the evening, we had checks set up on all entry and exit points to the city of Estevan,” Ladouceur told the Mercury. “We wanted to find anybody potentially coming into the city after having beverages outside of the city, and … people who were heading home outside of the city after drinking within the city.”
People might not want to pay for the high cost of a taxi if they live 20 minutes outside the city, but he believes it doesn’t negate the need for a designated driver or another means for a safe ride home.
“It costs nothing for a designated driver,” Ladouceur said. “Call a friend, call a family member or plan ahead. Or drink at home.”
They also had check stops near the CP Rail crossings, and roaming check stops at various locations, such as Fourth Street, King Street and the roads leading into Affinity Place, where the CanElson Drilling Estevan Bruins had a pair of home games.
Check points were set up throughout the city on Saturday night as well. They didn’t involve as many officers, but police checked several hundred motorists. Once again, none of the motorists checked were impaired, but police did apprehend an impaired driver just after 4 a.m. in a residential area.
Members of the CP Rail Police, the Weyburn Police Service, the RCMP and the Combined Traffic Services of Saskatchewan assisted the EPS with the check stops. The RCMP officers were located at the city’s entrances.
SGI provided financial assistance for the crackdown.
“A number of the officers that we saw out on the roads on Friday and Saturday nights were either part of the Combined Traffic Services of Saskatchewan, which is supported by SGI, or by the Operation Overdrive Program, which is supported by SGI,” said Ladouceur.
Ladouceur said they were pleased with the results, because their goal is to not have any impaired drivers on Estevan’s streets. The check stops are going to continue.
The public support, especially on social media, has been “phenomenal,” he said.
“If it’s something that the public sees as beneficial, and the police sees as beneficial, we’ll continue to do it,” said Ladouceur.
The police have the financial resources and the personnel to continue with the impaired driving crackdown. He noted there won’t be an increase in the police budget from the growing enforcement. It’s all coming through provincial funding, Combined Traffic Services or a shuffling of officers’ schedules.
They also don’t need to hire more officers, he said. They just need to be deployed differently when necessary.
“This isn’t a matter of saying ‘Let’s bring in 10 officers on overtime, because that doesn’t help anyone,” said Ladouceur.
With the Christmas season approaching, it’s even more imperative for the police to be out-and-about and to be visible in the community. They’re also asking the public to be more responsible at their holiday functions and outings.
People have been given plenty of warning about the crackdown, he said. It’s been posted constantly on social media and it’s been discussed extensively in the media. And impaired driving is one of the most preventable crimes out there.
“If you get caught, you get stopped and you get charged, don’t say you weren’t warned,” said Ladouceur.
