State police could top 1,000 DUI arrests by the end of the year. What’s behind the surge?

Rhode Island State Police are on track to make more impaired-driving arrests than ever in 2023.

Troopers have logged 870 arrests for driving under the influence so far this year, according to state police Lt. Col. Robert Creamer.

At the current pace, Creamer said, troopers could make more than 1,000 arrests this year and break the record. The standing record, established in 2021, is 954 arrests, Creamer said.

The record pace of arrests accompanies a collection of cases that have drawn attention lately:

On Friday, a 36-year-old Providence woman was arrested after she crashed a Honda into an SUV, which threw the SUV into another vehicle, according to state police Lt. David Gormly. The woman, he said, was traveling with a 6-year-old and a 9-year-old who were treated for minor injuries.

Eight other people were arrested and charged with driving under the influence on Friday night, Gormly said.

DUI arrests surge since 2015

The trendline for DUI arrests has been on the rise at least since 2015. Also, the annual arrest total has risen sharply since the formation of a specialized traffic safety unit in 2019.

Troopers averaged about 457 arrests per year from 2015 through 2019. In 2020, the year after the unit was created, the total rose to 602.

After the 2021 record of 954 arrests, the total dropped to 788 last year.

This year the state police are well past that number with the holiday drinking season still ahead of them.

Creamer acknowledges that the presence of the unit has increased arrests, but he emphasizes that plenty of arrests have been made by troopers who are not in the unit.

The rising number of arrests also demonstrates that more people are willing to drive under the influence, he said.

“I just don’t think society is hearing the message,” he said.

Monica Blanchette, coordinator of the Burrillville Prevention Action Coalition, pointed out that drinkers have lots of tools at their disposal to help them avoid driving under the influence in the 2020s.

Blanchette is talking about ride-hailing options such as Uber and Lyft.

“In this day and age,” she said, “there’s no excuse for driving under the influence.”