The newest batch of alco-analyser statistics show that arrests made this year continue to drop in comparison to last year.

Between July and September there were 70 arrests made with 39 people failing the test, 21 refusing to take it, nine passing it, and one person receiving a caution.

In comparison, figures for July to September of 1998 show that there were 86 arrests with 53 failures, 21 refusals and 12 passes.

However, the latest quarterly figures show an increase over the number of arrests made during the second quarter of this year when 66 were made.

A breakdown of the statistics show men continue to dominate the number of arrests being made with 64 of the 70 for the quarter being men.

This follows the pattern seen during the first and second quarters of this year when 70 of 77 and 64 of the 66 arrests, respectively, were made against males.

Of the 64 arrests, 34 men failed the alco-analyser test, nine passed it and 20 refused it.

Five of the six women who were arrested failed the test, one refused it and another one was cautioned.

By age, people between the ages of 31 and 40 continue to account for the largest proportion of arrests. There were 22 who fell in this age range.

This follows the pattern started during the first and second quarters of this year when this age group also topped this category for arrests.

Sixteen arrests were made against people between 22 and 30 years of age, 13 against 41 to 50 year olds, and 12 against those aged between 18 and 21.

Friday was the most popular night of the week for people to break the law, with 13 arrests being recorded.

It was followed by Thursday with 11 arrests and Monday, Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday with ten arrests each.

And the busiest time for officers was between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. when they pulled over 26 drivers.

Other statistics show that 42 of the arrests were made against bike riders and 24 were against car drivers, with four van drivers also being nabbed.

The average failure rate of the people who took the test was 189.7 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millimetres of blood -- well over twice the legal limit of 80 milligrams per 100 millimetres.

This was up on the previous two quarters when the average failure rate for January to March was 171.9 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood and April to June when it was 166.2 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.

The highest reading recorded during this period was 346 milligrams per 100 millilitres and the lowest pass reading was six milligrams per 100 millilitres.

The youngest person arrested was 17 years old while the oldest was 58. The oldest recorded a breath sample of 302 milligrams per 100 millilitres.

CRIME CRM