West Midlands Police offers cash rewards to help catch drink-drivers

West Midlands Police has launched a controversial new campaign in an attempt to catch more drink-drivers. The force is offering a reward of up to £200 to any individual reporting a driver to the police who has been drinking and driving.

The reward will only be paid out if the driver is convicted for drink-driving, not if they are just stopped and breathalysed. Even if alcohol is on their breath, the test does not mean that they are over the limit.

When a positive breath test is taken, drivers are arrested and taken to a police station where two further breath tests are taken on approved machinery. The lower reading is the one that is used to determine if an individual is over the limit. The current legal limit for drink driving is 35 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.

When a breath test is unreliable, a blood test or urine test is often taken. The legal limit for a blood test is 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood, and 107 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of urine.

West Midlands Police breathalysed around 4,000 drivers last year, which resulted in over 300 prosecutions.

Members of the public can report drink-driving anonymously via the Crimestoppers service.

The rewards are being paid from a £10,000 budget that has been allocated to the West Midlands Police drink-driving campaign.

Some people are against this rule and question how the reporting of individuals will be managed, and there is a risk of abuse. The Campaign Against Drink Driving group is disappointed with the idea that the police are relying on people to “shop their mates”.