SHREVEPORT, LA – I recently heard some shocking stats about drunk driving in Louisiana and I have been wondering why Shreveport leads this dangerous category by such a wide margin.

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You be the judge of what the numbers show. Shreveport Police made 625 DWI arrests in 2023 and there have been 367 DWI arrests so far this year.

The numbers from other large communities show much lower numbers. Does that mean Shreveport has more drunk drivers? Or does that mean we do a better job of enforcing the drunk driving laws?

Canva and Rueben Wright
Canva and Rueben Wright
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Police Chief Wayne Smith says his officers make this a top priority and they routinely conduct DWI safety check points across the city. He says impaired driving has a direct impact on the number of traffic accidents in our community each year.

These Stats Were Presented to Shreveport Council:

There were 625 DWI arrests in Shreveport in 2023. There have been 367 DWI arrests so far this year.

Baton Rouge Police report 454 DWI arrests for 2023. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office reports 338 DWI arrests for the same year. Alexandria shows 133 arrests with 128 in Monroe and 117 by the New Orleans Police Department.

Miami Police Erect DUI Checkpoints During Holiday Season
(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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To see those numbers for New Orleans is quite a surprise.

But LSU tracks DWI arrests across the state and has the data by parish. For all of 2023, there were more than 13,000 DWI arrests in the entire state.

Miami Police Erect DUI Checkpoints During Holiday Season
(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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Here Are the Top 5 Parishes for DWI Arrests:

5. 759 Calcasieu Parish

4. 858 Caddo Parish

3. 932 Jefferson Parish

2. 910 St. Tammany Parish

1. 1048 East Baton Rouge Parish

There were 622 DWI arrests in Bossier Parish in 2023, 104 DWI arrests in DeSoto Parish, 30 DWI arrests in Red River Parish, 122 in Webster Parish and 38 in Bienville Parish.

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