Having a police officer who’s dedicated to handling drunk driving offenses apparently helped the Redding Police Department get a better handle on that crime last year, according to statistics from the agency for 2025.
DUI offenses can apply to drivers who’ve consumed above the legal limit of alcohol, as well as motorists who create dangers on the road by being impaired after using cannabis, illegal drugs or other substances.
The number of drunk driving arrests reported by the agency rose to 484 last year, compared to 408 in 2024 and 352 in 2023.
DUI collisions also rose to 107 last year, a nominal increase from 104 in 2024 and 89 in 2023, according to the report.
But impaired driving fatalities fell to zero in 2025 for the first time in recent years. That’s down from 3 DUI deaths in 2024 and 2 in 2023.
According to the report, “focused enforcement” and a DUI-dedicated officer is underpinning those numbers.
Redding Police Officer Richard Key focuses on DUI enforcement as a speciality officer on the Redding force. The job is funded by a California Office of Traffic Safety Grant last year that ends in October.
At a Redding council meeting last month, the agency submitted a grant for another one-year cycle for a DUI-focused officer, Barner said.
Redding Police Chief Brian Barner said Key will return to other patrol duties when the DUI grant funding ends.
Since January, at least three DUI incidents have resulted in arrest.
On Jan. 27, a Redding police officer was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, according to a complaint filed with the Shasta County District Attorney’s Office.
On January 25, a suspected DUI driver crashed a truck through a brick wall into the backyard of a home near Rancho Road and Shasta View Drive, according to a Redding Police Department social media post on Facebook.
On Feb. 8, two pedestrians were injured after a Redding man suspected of driving under the influence allegedly drove his vehicle into a group of people in an east Redding neighborhood, police said.
Other highlights from RPD’s 2025 Year-End Recap
Total arrests in the city of Redding fell to a three-year low after spiking the year before, data from the department’s Year-End Recap show.
Total arrests last year dipped to 8,178, down from 11,260 in 2024 — a decrease of about 27%.
RPD’s report said lower staffing affected the trend. “Staffing and available resources drive department activity, including arrests,” the agency’s report said.
The force had 114 sworn officers in 2025. That’s down from the 122 sworn officers on the police force in 2024.
At the same time, felony arrests rose in 2025 in the city as the agency shifted its focus to handle more serious and complex cases requiring longer investigations, the report said.
New state laws also had an impact.
Prop. 36 allows people to receive felony rather than misdemeanor charges for suspects with repeat drug offenses or theft offenses of two or more past convictions, even if the stolen items are valued below the $950 felony threshold.
Arrests classified as felonies have risen in response.
Redding police reported 2,120 felony arrests in 2025, up from 2,025 arrests in 2024 and 1,889 in 2023.
The number of calls for service and police reports also fell, according to the report.
Redding officials reported 96,013 calls for service last year, down from 109,647 in 2024 and 102,890 in 2023.
Residents also filed fewer police reports.
Last year, residents filed 17,375 reports with police, a decline from 21,016 in 2024 and 22,187 in 2023.
Michele Chandler covers public safety, reports on trials in Shasta County Superior Court, writes about restaurants and handles whatever else comes up for the Redding Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. Accepts story tips at 530-338-7753 and at mrchandler@gannett.com. Please support our entire newsroom’s commitment to public service journalism by subscribing today.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Redding police report zero DUI deaths in 2025, a first in recent years
Reporting by Michele Chandler, Redding Record Searchlight / Redding Record Searchlight
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