Over New Years, many in the city noticed an increase in police presence on the roads in and around Swift Current.

Well, it was not a coincidence. The Swift Current RCMP and the Saskatchewan Highway Patrol (SPH) joined forces to help crack down on impaired driving over the holiday.

Mike Young, the traffic services team leader for the Collision Reconstructionist RCMP/Combined Traffic Services Saskatchewan in Swift Current, shared some insight into the operation.

"So the 30th and the 31st Swift Current traffic RCMP, traffic services and Saskatchewan Highway Patrol ended up doing combined patrols throughout the southwest corner of the province," said Young. "With a focus on commercial vehicle enforcement on the 30th and then 31st, we were looking at impaired driving enforcement throughout the area here".

The increased police presence that people did notice was due to there being 6 SHP units on patrol in addition to regular Swift Current RCMP patrols. Young noted that this will probably be something they do in the future, as it was so fruitful this time around.

"There were 5 provincial roadside suspensions that they ended up issuing over those two days, and one of those actually being a Class 1 driver, so one commercial driver," recounted Young. "There was also one cannabis-impaired that they assisted RCMP with as well in regards to utilizing the drug detection device that they utilized. The swabs of that some people have heard of out there and that matter is still outstanding pending blood demand results on that. But over in total, there were approximately 35 enforcement actions over the two days, for the RCMP. Those are charges, written warnings and inspection tickets".

In total, there were close to 180 contacts between Swift Current RCMP and the SHP units. If the weather had been less brutally cold, Young says they would likely have seen more.

"It's nothing atypical really, for a New Year's and New Year's Eve.," he said. "Just with the cold out there this year, I don't think we ended up seeing the number of vehicles and people moving about, as a result."

Young would like to remind everyone that it is a team effort to keep roads safe. Especially during the holidays, when roads are busier. Obey traffic laws, and be aware of your surroundings. That way you're not going to have to meet the friendly faces of the RCMP Traffic Unit or SHP on our highways.