Here's how many DUI arrests were made in Aquidneck Island communities in 2021

A recent report from Target 12 revealed a sharp increase in drunk driving arrests made by Rhode Island State Police in recent years.

State troopers charged 415 people with operating under the influence in 2019, a number rose to 603 in 2020 and ballooned to 953 in 2021. State Police Col. James Manni attributed the increase to more intoxicated motorists on the roads as well as heightened enforcement, Target 12 reported.

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Is that Rhode Island State Police trend mirrored by Aquidneck Island police departments? Not quite.

Newport Police Lt. April Amaral said her department reported 44 DUI arrests in 2019, 39 in 2020 and 39 in 2021.

“(There) does not seem to be an uptick, but we are a bit different due to a small downtown and the responsible use of Uber (and Lyft),” Amaral said in an email.

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Middletown police reported 91 DUI arrests in 2019, 64 in 2020 and 87 in 2021. The diminished number of arrests in 2020 “is attributed to COVID,” said Middletown Police Capt. Jason Ryan in an email.

“If anything, we have seen a decrease in DUI numbers,” Ryan said. “I think this is due to ride shares being more popular and available in our area. We commend the fact that people are utilizing ride shares instead of taking a chance behind the wheel after they have been drinking.”

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In Portsmouth this past summer, DUI charges topped the list, by a wide margin, as the most frequent charge to come out of that town.

“It’s really one of our bread-and-butter things,” Portsmouth Police Lt. Michael Morse told a group of students in the department’s Citizens Police Academy over the summer, referring to the skill of Portsmouth officers in detecting drunk drivers in their town.

Portsmouth reported 126 DUI arrests in 2019, 114 in 2020 and 140 in 2021.

There was no drastic spike like the Rhode Island State Police saw, but The Daily News asked Portsmouth Police Detective Lt. John Cahoon why the numbers have stayed pretty consistent year-to-year.

“(We) make it a priority here (as well as general traffic enforcement), and the officers take pride in our DUI enforcement,” Cahoon said in an email. “I don’t think there is another department of similar size that compares. There was a dip in 2020, which I think can be attributed to people staying home more due to COVID.”

This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: DUI arrests steady in 2021 in Newport RI, Middletown, Portsmouth