PENDLETON — The Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office had a dip in arrests for driving impaired driving during the coronavirus pandemic, from 42 cases in 2019 to 39 each in 2020 and 2021. The number might drop further this year, with 32 as of Dec. 14.

The Morrow County Sheriff’s Office, however, made 10% more arrests for impaired driving so far this year.

Morrow County reported making 13 arrests in 2018 for driving under the influence of intoxicants, and then more than doubled that to 28 in 2019. The total rose again in 2020 to 31, then fell to 20 in 2021. The numbers are climbing in 2022, with more than 20 so far.

Oregon State Police data shows arrests for driving under the influence of intoxicants grew statewide from 12,370 in 2020 to 13,389 in 2021. OSP as of Sept. 30 recorded 9,177 arrests for DUII.

Lisa Reddington of the La Grande Police Department provided DUII arrest statistics for the LGPD and Union County Sheriff’s Office. The two agencies reported a big jump in arrests between 2020 and 2021.

La Grande police officers and Union County sheriff’s deputies made 57 DUII arrests in 2018, then 60 the next year. The total dropped to 56 in the pandemic year of 2020.

But then, according to the data, the arrests shot up to 106 in 2021, and stayed high in 2022 with 105 as of Dec. 22.

Law enforcement agencies did not break down arrests by substance.

Jaime Shockman, law enforcement records specialist with the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office, provided monthly data on impaired driving arrests.

For the Novembers, arrests grew from two in 2019 to three in 2020 to four in 2021 to three in 2022. The Decembers showed no gain, being three in each year 2019-2021, and two up to Dec. 14, 2022. January figures fluctuated wildly, with three cases in 2019, falling to two in the first pandemic year of 2020, then further to one in 2021, but soared to seven in 2020.

Arrests reached that lofty level in only two other months of the four years: July 2020 and October 2021. July’s case level is typically elevated, arguably by Independence Day celebrations and increased vacation travel. Yet this year only one arrest occurred in July, so the figures could just be random fluctuations in small numbers.

November, December and January taken together had seven arrests in 2019-20 and again 2020-21, but doubled to 14 in 2021-22. However this year so far overall has been lower than preceding years.

Umatilla County sheriff’s deputies patrol some smaller cities without their own police departments and unincorporated areas of the county, except for tribal, state and federal lands, with whose public safety forces they cooperate.

“We hold contracts with the cities of Athena and Weston to provide patrol,” Umatilla County sheriff’s Capt. Sterrin Ward said. “And yes, the rest of our patrol area is the unincorporated areas of the county. However, (Oregon State Police) are state of Oregon officers so they can and do conduct traffic stops and enforcement whether in the county or inside the cities as the need arises.”

Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office

2019: 42

2020: 39

2021: 39

2022 as of Dec. 14: 32

Morrow County Sheriff’s Office

2018: 13

2019: 28

2020: 31

2021: 20

2022: 22 (to late December)

La Grande Police Department/Union County Sheriff’s Office

2018: 57

2019: 60

2020: 56

2021: 106

2022: 105 (to late December)

Sources: Local and state law enforcement agencies