Fewer held for drunk driving
‘Visible policing caused drop’
NEWLY released provincial crime statistics show a significant drop in drunk driving cases around Buffalo City Metro and Mthatha.
While the province achieved a 5.5% decrease in drunk driving arrests in the period April 2014 to March 2015, a 15.7% decrease has been achieved in the last five years.
Overall 6 946 people were arrested on drunken driving charges in the last reporting period.
In an address this week at a media briefing on the provincial crime statistics, Eastern Cape police commissioner Lieutenant-General Celiwe Binta said the decline in drunk driving arrests could be attributed to high police visibility on the province’s roads.
“People might now be aware that if you go and drink somewhere you better hire a driver for yourself or you actually sleep where you were busy drinking or enjoying yourself,” Binta said.
Despite the reduction, drunken driving cases are still high. The East London Police Station recorded 462 drunk driving cases in the 2014-15 reporting period compared to 527 cases in 2013-14. Other figures include:
Cambridge Police Station which saw a reduction in drunk driving arrests from 313 to 215 over the same periods;
Duncan Village Police Station from 133 to 121;
Gonubie Police Station from 55 to 47;
Buffalo Flats Police Station from 236 to 223; and
Mthatha Police Station from 20 to 18.
The following police stations experienced an increase in drunken driving cases:
King William’s Town Police Station from 313 cases in the 201314 period to 376 cases during the 2014-15 period;
Mdantsane Police Station: 187 to 192;
Beacon Bay Police Station: 120 to 143; and
Zwelitsha Police Station: 100 to 119.
The Eastern Cape Liquor Board yesterday said it remained concerned about the high level of cases of drunken driving in the province.
Spokesman Mgwebi Msiya said while the board had intensified its education campaigns on drunk driving around BCM, “this decrease cannot be attributed to a single roleplayer; but it is as a result of a collective effort by various stakeholders who are committed to alleviating drunk driving in BCM”. — zwangam@dispatch.co.za