NORTHAM district police are cracking down on drug-drivers in 2015.
Northam Police officer-in-charge Ron Daniels said the introduction of a new portable drug testing machine has made it possible to target those driving under the influence of drugs.
The test system, known as the DRAGER Drug test 5000 accurately detects and identifies a variety of narcotics which may be in a driver's system and is similar to the alcohol breath alyser system which police currently use.
Over the New Year period Northam police stopped 200 vehicles for testing. Of these, 28 drivers were tested positive for drugs and 19 have been charged for driving under the influence of narcotics.
The average positive hit rate for the rest of the state was at 2 per cent, while Northam police managed to get to 10 per cent.
Mr Daniels said the hit rate was incredibly high in comparison to the rest of the state.
On New Year's Eve in Lancelin alone 24 people were charged with drug driving offences. This is usually a hotspot during the New Year's period, so targeting this area before incidents happened was crucial.
Drivers who were found to have traces of narcotics in their system had their cars searched by police and a variety of drug paraphernalia and other drug related items were found.
Mr Daniels said many of the drivers charged with driving under the influence of narcotics admitted they would not drive under the influence of alcohol because of the police crackdown on drink driving.
The legislation for drug driving offences means that if any traces of drugs are found in a driver's system they are required to go to the police station for further tests.
Police plan to set up drug testing stops in the Wheatbelt region throughout the year in an effort to curb the number of people who drive under the influence of drugs.
Anyone found to be driving under the influence of narcotics would have their licence disqualified imminently, Mr Daniels said.
He also said police stations located in Perth will be collaborating with Northam police with highway patrols in the New Year.
The aim is to keep the police presence constant to remind drivers of road safety.
Mr Daniels said it was difficult to patrol the whole of the Wheatbelt region as it covered such a vast area.
Another area Mr Daniels hopes to target in the coming year is keeping the crime rate low, which last year was down 13 per cent from 2013.
He said by keeping a check on those offenders who may be out on bail, as well as keeping a presence around known offenders will help keep the rate low.
Preventing road offences and crime before they happen is another of Mr Daniels' key areas to keep track of this year.
He said by knowing where people were before they committed a crime was crucial.
By gathering statistics and data from the previous crimes, they will be able to determine where the hotspots are and target them before the offender commits an offence.
The ultimate aim for 2015 is to get the crime rate to a lower level than the previous year.
