Christmas Drink Driving: Which Police Forces Made the Most Arrests Last Year?
Christmas can be one of the most dangerous times of the year for motorists. Family celebrations, work parties and social events all increase the risk of people getting behind the wheel after drinking.
New data collected by First4Lawyers shows that at least 3,982 people were arrested across England and Wales last December for driving while under the influence.
It’s worth noting that the true amount may be even higher as some police forces didn’t provide exact totals where a smaller number of people were arrested, in order to protect identities.
Several forces also grouped drug-driving arrests together with drink driving, we’ve set out which ones later on in this article.
Met police made the most arrests
Unsurprisingly, the Metropolitan Police Service – the UK’s largest police force – recorded the highest number of drink driving arrests last December. 408 people were taken into custody over the Christmas period.
Greater Manchester Police came in second, recording 237 drink driving arrests – followed by:
- West Yorkshire Police – 215
- Thames Valley Police – 202
- Devon & Cornwall Police – 173
- South Yorkshire Police – 140
- Hampshire Constabulary – 138
At the other end of the scale, several forces reported only a small number of arrests during the month of December. Both the City of London Police and Derbyshire Constabulary recorded less than 10 arrests in total.
Gender breakdown
Men accounted for the majority of drink driving arrests made by every force that responded to our Freedom of Information (FOI) request.
3,099 men were arrested in total during the month of December 2024, compared to 620 women. This suggests that men represented around 78% of drink driving arrests (when including arrests where gender wasn’t disclosed).
The Metropolitan Police arrested the most women, 65 in total, which isn’t surprising given the size of the police force. But women made up the highest percentage of arrests in Derbyshire – accounting for 29% of all drink driving arrests made by Derbyshire Constabulary last December.
The age groups most likely to be arrested
Younger drivers were more likely to be arrested for drink driving. There was a common theme across all the data we received that the older the age grouping, the fewer arrests there were.
Drivers in their 20s and 30s made up the majority of drink-related driving arrests, but there were also a significant number in their 40s who were taken into custody.
The Metropolitan Police saw some of the youngest people arrested, with two 10-19 year olds taken into custody.
Meanwhile, Essex Police arrested the oldest recorded perpetrator, who was 86 years old.
Forces that included drug driving in their figures
One limitation of the FOI data is that several forces were unable to separate drink driving from drug driving arrests. This means that their totals include drivers being arrested for being “unfit through drink or drugs”.
The following forces explicitly stated this in their response:
- Kent Police – 235 arrests
- West Midlands Police – 204 arrests
- Lancashire Constabulary – 199 arrests
- Hertfordshire Constabulary – 72 arrests
- Bedfordshire Police – 69 arrests
- Northumbria Police – 34 arrests
As these forces combined the two offences, comparisons with forces reporting drink driving only should be approached with caution.
The dangers of driving under the influence
Driving while over the limit significantly increases the risk of a serious collision.
In 2022, data from the Department for Transport showed that drink driving deaths had reached their highest level in 13 years. In the years since, hundreds of collisions have taken place as a result of drink or drug driving.
If you’ve been injured in a road accident caused by another driver, whether they were under the influence or not, you could be entitled to compensation.
To find out how First4Lawyers could help, get in touch, request a callback or start your claim online.
Note: Data pulled from 38 police forces in England and Wales. Police Scotland and Police Service Northern Ireland refused our request for information. Avon and Somerset Constabulary, Gloucestershire Constabulary, Northamptonshire Police, Surrey Police, West Mercia Police, Dyfed-Powys Police and North Wales Police did not respond.
