Regina police unveil new mobile impaired driving testing unit
Police say new vehicle will speed up investigations and free up resources
Regina Police have unveiled a new mobile testing unit that they say will speed up drug and alcohol testing.
The Regina Police Service's mobile testing unit is a new vehicle that will act as a laboratory, carrying advanced breathalyzer and oral fluid testing devices. It has been in use since early December.
The vehicle will allow officers to legally confirm impairment from alcohol and other drugs without taking suspects back to the police station.
Officers will still bring suspected impaired drivers to the station, but their processing will be faster without the added step of testing them upon arrival.
"The average impaired driver takes us four hours from start to finish for an investigation, and it takes four police officers to conduct the investigation," Cpl. Ross Kauk said on Thursday. "With this tool, it now cuts us down to about an hour for the investigation, and now two officers instead of four."
Kauk said the vehicle will expand the police force's testing capabilities.
"We know that we do about 1,000 tests for impaired driving every year on a breath test device for alcohol. But last year we only arrested about 50 people for impaired driving by drug," he said. "That's not because those people aren't out there committing that crime. It's just because we don't have the tools that are readily accessible for us."
In its monthly crime report presented to the local board of police commissioners on Dec. 12, Regina police stated that as of November, it had made 304 arrests for impaired driving in 2024. That was a decrease of 12 per cent from the same period in 2023.
Police stated that on average, 2,500 drivers are checked for impairment at check stops in the city every year.
Insp. Shawn Fenwick also spoke to how public awareness of the vehicle's capabilities could deter impaired driving.
"I think drug impaired driving right now is becoming more prevalent than ever before," he said. "So we want to change that mindset and make people change their behaviour."
The vehicle is the result of a partnership between Regina Police and Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI). SGI contributed $25,000, the same amount it previously contributed to the Saskatoon Police Service to develop a mobile lab.
"Thirty-eight per cent of the people who die on our roads are because of impaired driving," said Kwei Quaye, vice president of traffic safety services at SGI. "We dream of a day when we'll see that down to five per cent."
In addition to regular check stops, Regina police said the vehicle could be stationed at large public events like football games.
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