A regional law enforcement campaign targeting impaired drivers on Saint Patrick’s Day Parade day resulted in 16 arrests across Aquidneck Island and South County, Newport Police Chief Ryan Duffy announced Monday.
Officers from the Tiverton, Portsmouth, Middletown, Newport, Jamestown, North Kingstown, South Kingstown and Narragansett police departments, along with Rhode Island State Police, participated in the coordinated effort on Saturday, March 14.
Many of those arrested were processed with the assistance of the Providence Police Department’s Breath Alcohol Testing mobile unit, which was deployed to support participating agencies throughout the operation.
The campaign is separate from Newport Police Department’s own enforcement activity on parade day. As previously reported by What’sUpNewp, Newport officers issued 36 municipal citations and made 10 custodial arrests on Saturday, primarily for open container violations and disorderly conduct.
The 16 regional DUI arrests are down from 2025, when 20 people were arrested through a similar joint effort between Newport County police departments and the Rhode Island State Police.