Bellingham has already seen more DUI arrests in 2025 compared to last year
Drunken driving arrests continue to rise in Bellingham, with courts seeing more repeat offenders and people who get behind the wheel who are more intoxicated than ever. Bellingham Municipal Court Judge Debra Lev and lead prosecutor Ryan Anderson discussed the rising DUI toll during the court’s annual budget discussion with the City Council on Monday.
There have been more DUI arrests so far this year than in all of 2024, according to Police Department data.
“The DUIs we’re seeing are more egregious. It boggles the mind,” Lev said during the meeting at City Hall.
City Council member Hollie Huthman, who has a bachelor’s degree in sociology with an emphasis in criminal justice, said she found the numbers “fascinating and frightening.”
Anderson said that DUIs are at the highest level he’s seen in 20 years as a prosecutor.
“I would say a huge chunk of them, 50% or more, are repeat offenders and (their blood alcohol levels) are astronomically high. We have more 0.20 and above, almost three times the legal limit, like, routinely,” he said.
Bellingham Police made 390 arrests for driving under the influence this year through Oct. 31, according to crime data available online. There were 400 DUI arrests in all of 2024. Just last weekend, from Friday to Sunday, Bellingham Police made 11 arrests for driving under the influence, Anderson said. DUI crashes have been declining in Bellingham over the past decade, despite a spike from 2017-2019, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation. So far this year, there have been 29 crashes where alcohol was involved. There were 44 such crashes in 2024, according to WSDOT.
