Police see rise in reported incidents over Midsummer holiday
The Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) have dealt with almost 800 disturbances during the Midsummer holidays so far, an increase of almost 300 compared with the same period last year.
Speaking about June 22 and 23, Tago Trei, chief operating officer of the PPA, told ERR on Thursday: "For the police, the Midsummer holidays have been really busy compared to the previous year, we are talking about two days here."
"This means that there were almost 800 high-priority challenges, up from 500 last year," he explained. Trei said the police had been well prepared and were quick to assist those who needed help.
Most of the complaints were related to alcohol but there was also an increase in the number of intimate partner violence cases reported. While 30 cases were reported each day in 2020, 50 cases were reported each day this year.
"Fortunately, there were no tragic consequences," Trei said.
Eight-one drivers were caught driving while having exceeded the alcohol limit. In total, police checked 14,000 people.
"This is more than the previous year," Trei said, adding they had also caught a jet driver who was over the limit.
"Compared to the previous year, there were also two more serious violations of public order, which consisted of people fighting in public, someone saw it and considered it necessary to call the police," he told ERR.
Two people, a motorcyclist and a moped driver, died in traffic accidents. There were also a lot of accidents involving scooter drivers.
"The holidays are definitely not over for us yet. In all likelihood, the holiday mood will continue, which means that the police will be out with additional resources at least until the end of this week," Trei said.
Rescue board sees 25 percent increase in reports
The Rescue Board also told ERR it had seen an approximate 25 percent increase in callouts this year compared to 2020. This increase was mostly connected to the storm which occurred on June 23.
Indrek Ints, chief steward of the Rescue Board, told ERR on Thursday that 288 of the 486 reports were related to the storm and were mainly related to removing fallen trees from roads or powerlines.
Emergency workers were also called 94 times to fires in outdoor settings.
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Editor: Helen Wright
