DWI arrests are rising at an alarming rate.
The Reagan County Sheriff’s Department says they’ve seen a 600% increase in DWI arrests from this time last year.
“A lot of times, late night traffic stops around here, there’s really not much to them,” Reagan County Sheriff Jeff Garner said.
Lately, Reagan County deputies have been slapping on more handcuffs than in past years. So far in 2016, the Reagan County Sheriff’s Department says 23 people were arrested for driving under the influence.
Deputies are averaging about seven arrests a month and 18 a year for the last five years. That’s a 600% increase from this time last year.
“This is quite a bit higher, so this is definitely something that needs to be put on the radar and we need to keep an eye on,” Garner said.
“As early as five o’clock in the evening until five o’clock in the morning we’re seeing a double increase of what we had last year,” Reagan County Patrol Deputy Judy Gutierrez said.
It’s a statistic Reagan County Patrol Deputy Judy Gutierrez can’t believe.
“There’s a lot of people that seem to be driving fine and we are stopping them for traffic offenses as little as no license plate light and we discover that they’re intoxicated,” Gutierrez said.
What is the reason behind the sudden increase?
Sheriff Jeff Garner says it’s everything from oil field layoffs to a bigger bar scene.
“We do have more active bars in the city now than we’ve probably had in a long time,” Garner said.
All of this is adding a larger load for deputies in the department.
“I think it has all of us overwhelmed but, at the same time it’s nice to know that we’re getting these people off the streets,” Gutierrez said.
The Sheriff’s Department says if they see this trend continue, they’ll look to the community to help find a solution.
(Information from YourBasin.com)
