MORE than 300 calls to police were made by members of the public in Dorset over the festive period reporting suspected drink or drug drivers – including a woman believed to be on cocaine during the school run.

Throughout December – the Christmas party season – Dorset Police ran a Festive Feedback campaign, which encouraged members of the public to report impaired drivers.

Each person who contacted police received a follow-up call updating them on the police response.

Now, officers have confirmed across December, 317 calls were received from members of the public. Officers attended 129 of the incidents and were able to locate 90 of the vehicles involved- with 36 arrests.

Overall, more than one third of the drink and drug drivers arrested during the month were as a result of reports from concerned members of the public.

Arrests that resulted from public calls included:
• A woman arrested who was reportedly under the influence of cocaine while on the school run.
• A man who was initially reported as a suspected drink driver was subsequently arrested on suspicion of possessing drugs with intent to supply and was reportedly linked to an organised county lines drugs network.
• A man who was arrested, along with two passengers, on suspicion of drink driving and theft of a motor vehicle who was also wanted on a prison recall.

Police backed up the initiative with a range of activity, carried out as part of the Operation Limit national drink and drug drive campaign, and efforts to raise awareness on the dangers and impacts of driving while impaired. This led to 11 arrests and 10 vehicles being seized.

Inspector Joe Wheable, of the Roads Policing Team, said: “The Festive Feedback initiative was all about improving public confidence and encouraging reporting to police by showing that we will respond to calls around drink and drug action and take positive action.

“The response from those we contacted was overwhelmingly positive, with people indicating that being updated on the outcome of their call made them feel involved in the process.

“They also stated that they felt the call was dealt with professionally and that they agreed with the response taken by police as a result of their contact.

“Not only has the Festive Feedback campaign encouraged members of the public to report incidents to us, it has also provided us with invaluable data to use for future operations and campaigns.

“We would like to thank the community of Dorset for their fantastic response to this campaign.”

Across December, Dorset Police conducted a total of 178 breath tests and 93 drug wipes.

People can still report anyone they suspect has been drinking or has taken drugs and is about to drive on 999, providing the make and model of the vehicle, registration number and direction of travel.