PEIRCMP in Prince Edward Island used a helicopter over the weekend to help track down impaired drivers who attempted to flee from police in West Prince.5 impaired drivers arrested during operation in West PrinceThinh Nguyen · CBC News · Posted: Nov 24, 2025 1:53 PM EST | Last Updated: 3 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.The use of the helicopter increases safety by allowing police to track the vehicle from a distance before intervening, says Cpl. Gavin Moore. (CBC)RCMP in Prince Edward Island used a helicopter over the weekend to help track down impaired drivers who attempted to flee from police in West Prince.This is the first time a helicopter has been used for traffic enforcement in the province, police said in a news release Monday.Officers stopped more than 100 vehicles on Friday and Saturday nights as part of targeted enforcement aimed at addressing impaired driving and flight from police.With support from the aircraft, which was brought in from Moncton, officers located four drivers who fled from police in cars, trucks and ATVs.“Anytime somebody takes flight from police, it is a concern for safety for all motorists, for the driver, for police and for anybody else on the roads,” Cpl. Gavin Moore, the RCMP’s media relations officer, told CBC News.“By having a helicopter in the air, this allows for additional space and increasing safety for everybody, allowing the person to gain a little bit of distance and hopefully make it safer for everybody for police to intervene.”Moore says the helicopter used on P.E.I. over the weekend was brought in from Moncton. It is used regularly on the Island for various investigations, especially search operations when police are looking for missing persons or additional evidence. (P.E.I. RCMP)All four drivers were arrested for impaired driving by alcohol and flight from police. A fifth driver, who did not try to flee, was also arrested for impaired driving.“In one alarming case, the impaired driver had a vehicle full of young people, highlighting the severe risks associated with this behaviour,” the news release said.Why West Prince?RCMP said West Prince was chosen based on data of the most frequent flight-from-police incidents.The release also noted that Prince County has the highest rate of fatal motor vehicle collisions per capita in the province. Although it makes up about 30 per cent of P.E.I.’s population, the county has accounted for about half of the fatal crashes in RCMP jurisdiction over the past five years.In total, the weekend operation resulted in:115 traffic stops.23 violation tickets.4 arrests for fleeing from police.5 impaired-driving arrests.The helicopter was deployed through P.E.I.’s shared agreement with the RCMP’s Atlantic Regional Air Services.Moore said a helicopter was chosen over a drone because it offers more advantages.“For example, the height it can fly, the number of hours it can fly. For the control, there’s also additional passengers on a helicopter. It has additional tools that are used in tracking a vehicle once it’s identified,” he said.The operation involved Prince District RCMP, Provincial Traffic Services, the General Investigations Section, Police Dog Services, the Joint Enforcement Team and RCMP Atlantic Air Services.With files from Connor Lamont
Helicopter used to catch impaired drivers fleeing police on P.E.I.
