Which UK Areas have the Highest Number of Drunk Driving Offences and Arrests?
According to Drinkdriving.org, an average of 3,551 people are injured in drunk-driving-related accidents each year in the UK. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Brake also found that driving while under the influence of alcohol is one of the biggest killers on UK roads, with even small amounts of alcohol impairing driving and increasing risk.
This is because alcohol slows down our reaction times, and even moderate amounts can impair judgment. The substance also slows down the brain, which affects our reasoning and self-control.
Drivers may feel a false sense of confidence when under the influence of alcohol and lose their inhibitions, meaning they are more likely to take risks. Although the rate at which alcohol exits the bloodstream is roughly 0.015 g per hour, according to the Department of Recreation and Wellness, alcohol can still show up in a blood test for up to 12 hours.
To explore this in more depth, we have submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to all police stations. We also retrieved data from government websites about the number of drunk driving-related offences in different areas around the UK recorded 2017 to 2021.
We investigated the UK areas with the five lowest and highest numbers of drunk driving offences, drink driving arrests, court proceedings following an arrest, and finally, the number of positive or refused breath tests.
It is important to note, however, that the City of London Police is responsible for an extremely small part of London, comprising only the financial square mile in the centre of the city. The resident population is also extremely small and consists of fewer than 9,000 individuals.
Drink Driving Offences
We have investigated which areas of the UK had the highest and lowest number of drunk driving offences between 2017 and 2021.
2017
Top Five Drink Driving Offences
- Avon and Somerset Constabulary- 1725
- Sussex Police- 1496
- Kent Police- 1489
- Devon & Cornwall Police- 1394
- Northumbria Police- 1252
Bottom Five Drink Driving Offences
- City of London Police- 0
- Gwent Police- 584
- Cumbria Constabulary- 706
- Surrey Police- 867
- North Wales Police- 878
2018
Top Five Drink Driving Offences
- Avon and Somerset Constabulary- 1759
- Kent Police- 1600
- Devon & Cornwall Police- 1535
- Sussex Police- 1352
- Northumbria Police- 1278
Bottom Five Drink Driving Offences
- City of London Police- 3
- Gwent Police- 545
- Cumbria Constabulary- 776
- Bedfordshire Police- 826
- North Wales Police- 950
2019
Top Five Drink Driving Offences
- Avon and Somerset Constabulary- 2115
- Devon & Cornwall Police- 1636
- Kent Police- 1554
- Nottinghamshire Police- 1443
- Sussex Police- 1317
Bottom Five Drink Driving Offences
- City of London Police- 7
- Bedfordshire Police- 540
- Gwent Police- 615
- Surrey Police- 914
- North Wales Police- 996
2020
Top Five Drink Driving Offences
- Avon and Somerset Constabulary- 2131
- Devon & Cornwall Police- 1376
- Kent Police- 1355
- Northumbria Police- 1331
- Nottinghamshire Police- 1323
Bottom Five Drink Driving Offences
- City of London Police- 1
- Bedfordshire Police- 134
- Gwent Police- 610
- Cumbria Constabulary- 629
- North Wales Police- 825
2021
Top Five Drink Driving Offences
- Avon and Somerset Constabulary- 2085
- Nottinghamshire Police- 1480
- Devon & Cornwall Police- 1461
- Kent Police- 1399
- Northumbria Police- 1367
Bottom Five Drink Driving Offences
- City of London Police- 8
- Bedfordshire Police- 11
- Gwent Police- 589
- Cumbria Constabulary- 715
- Surrey Police- 786
We also retrieved overall FOI data for the regions with the least and most number of drunk driving offences per 1000 residents between 2017 and 2015. The results are in the tables below:
Top Five Drink Driving Offences per 1000 residents
| Constabulary | Total number of offences | Number of offences per 1,000 residents |
| Northumbria Police | 5,305 | 16.4 |
| Nottinghamshire Police | 5,522 | 6.6 |
| Cumbria Constabulary | 2,872 | 5.7 |
| Bedfordshire Police | 1,511 | 5.1 |
| North Wales Police | 3,575 | 5.1 |
Bottom Five Drink Driving Offences per 1000 residents
| Constabulary | Total number of offences | Number of offences per 1,000 residents |
| City of London Police | 19 | 2.4 |
| Kent Police | 5,908 | 3.1 |
| Sussex Police | 5,136 | 3.1 |
| South Wales Police | 4,170 | 3.2 |
| Devon & Cornwall Police | 6,008 | 3.4 |
Drink Driving Arrests
We have also investigated the UK regions with the highest and lowest number of drunk driving arrests between 2017 and 2021.
2017
Top Five Driving Arrests
- West Yorkshire Police- 2377
- Lancashire Constabulary- 2012
- Hampshire Constabulary- 1834
- Sussex Police- 1488
- Cheshire Constabulary- 1436
Bottom Five Driving Arrests
- Humberside Police- 436
- Bedfordshire Police- 514
- Wiltshire Police- 640
- Derbyshire Constabulary- 644
- Leicestershire Police- 825
2018
Top Five Driving Arrests
- West Yorkshire Police- 2463
- Lancashire Constabulary- 2095
- Hampshire Constabulary- 1927
- Sussex Police- 1346
- Cheshire Constabulary- 1281
Bottom Five Driving Arrests
- Bedfordshire Police/Cleveland Police- 525
- Wiltshire Police- 711
- Derbyshire Constabulary- 723
- Dorset Police- 902
- Humberside Police- 944
2019
Top Five Driving Arrests
- West Yorkshire Police- 2928
- Lancashire Constabulary- 2251
- Hampshire Constabulary- 1912
- Cheshire Constabulary- 1319
- Sussex Police- 1309
Bottom Five Driving Arrests
- Dyfed-Powys Police- 662
- Cleveland Police- 671
- Bedfordshire Police- 686
- Derbyshire Constabulary- 775
- Wiltshire Police- 790
2020
Top Five Driving Arrests
- West Yorkshire Police- 2849
- Lancashire Constabulary- 2079
- Hampshire Constabulary- 1751
- Sussex Police- 1256
- Humberside Police
Bottom Five Driving Arrests
- Dyfed-Powys Police- 518
- Cleveland Police- 585
- Derbyshire Constabulary- 638
- Bedfordshire Police- 669
- Dorset Police- 695
2021
Top Five Driving Arrests
- West Yorkshire Police- 2398
- Lancashire Constabulary- 2086
- Hampshire Constabulary- 1741
- Sussex Police- 1187
- Leicestershire Police
Bottom Five Driving Arrests
- Dyfed-Powys Police- 438
- Bedfordshire Police- 585
- Cleveland Police- 586
- Derbyshire Constabulary- 591
- Wiltshire Police- 671
We also looked at the least and most number of drunk driving arrests per 1000 residents between 2017 and 2015. The results are in the tables below:
Top Five Drink Driving Arrests per 1000 residents
| Constabulary | Total number of arrests | Number of arrests per 1,000 residents |
| Bedfordshire Police | 2,979 | 10.1 |
| Lancashire Constabulary | 10,523 | 7 |
| Cheshire Constabulary | 6,267 | 5.69 |
| West Yorkshire Police | 13,015 | 5.65 |
| Dorset Police | 4,038 | 5.19 |
Bottom Five Drink Driving Arrests per 1000 residents
| Constabulary | Total number of arrests | Number of arrests per 1,000 population |
| Derbyshire Constabulary | 3,351 | 3 |
| Dyfed-Powys Police | 1,618 | 3.1 |
| Surrey Police | 4,348 | 3.6 |
| Cleveland Police | 2,367 | 3.8 |
| Sussex Police | 6,586 | 3.9 |
Court Following Arrest
For the data regarding the number of individuals that have been required to go to court following arrest, we could only access data for Derbyshire Constabulary, which is explored in the table below:
| Year | Number going to court following arrest |
| 2017 | 593 |
| 2018 | 670 |
| 2019 | 723 |
| 2020 | 606 |
| 2021 | 528 |
Positive or refused breath tests
Finally, we have looked at the regions of the UK that have the highest and lowest number of positive or refused breath tests between 2017 and 2019.
2017
Top Five Positive or Refused Breath Tests
- Metropolitan Police Service- 4515
- West Yorkshire Police- 3288
- Cambridgeshire Constabulary- 2913
- Thames Valley Police- 1906
- Kent Police- 1839
Bottom Five Positive or Refused Breath Tests
- City of London Police- 104
- Cleveland Police- 378
- Bedfordshire Police- 451
- Warwickshire Police- 477
- Lincolnshire Police- 519
2018
Top Five Positive or Refused Breath Tests
- Metropolitan Police Service- 4557
- West Yorkshire Police- 4075
- Cambridgeshire Constabulary- 3156
- Greater Manchester Police- 2216
- Lancashire Constabulary- 1886
Bottom Five Positive or Refused Breath Tests
- City of London Police- 101
- Sussex Police- 227
- Warwickshire Police- 240
- Bedfordshire Police- 417
- Gwent Police- 428
2019
Top Five Positive or Refused Breath Tests
- Metropolitan Police Service- 4271
- West Yorkshire Police- 3197
- Cambridgeshire Constabulary- 2679
- Greater Manchester Police- 2571
- West Midlands Police- 2050
Bottom Five Positive or Refused Breath Tests
- City of London Police- 139
- Bedfordshire Police- 141
- Warwickshire Police- 315
- Sussex Police- 448
- Wiltshire Police- 455
Exploring the data reveals that the City of London and Dyfed-Powys Police repeatedly experienced low levels of drink-related offences. However, the small figures for the City of London can be mainly attributed to the fact that they represent only a small area of the city centre.
Conversely, we found that the West Yorkshire Police Avon and Somerset Constabulary frequently had among the highest drunk driving arrests and offences.
Overall, we hope we have provided you with a deeper understanding of the number of drunk driving-related offences in different areas around the UK over the past five years.
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