Twenty-three people were arrested over the Easter holiday weekend, with the majority being for outstanding warrants, police said yesterday.

A police spokesman said that of the 23 people arrested between Thursday at 5pm and 5am yesterday, 11 were for outstanding warrants and eight were on suspicion of impaired driving.

There was also an arrest for intruding on the privacy of a woman, one for wilful damage, one for being drunk and incapable, and one for breach of the peace.

Additionally, there were 31 stop and searches and 72 traffic tickets issued, with 26 being given out between Sunday and today.

Chief Inspector Robert Cardwell, of the Tactical Operations Division, said that 2,620 motorists were stopped during the roadside sobriety checks between Thursday and yesterday.

He said that 12 underwent roadside sobriety tests and that eight failed, who were arrested for impaired driving.

Of the eight, six people refused to take a breathalyser test at the Hamilton Police Station, while one failed the test and another later passed. The seven people have since been charged with impaired driving offences and will appear in Magistrates’ Court.

Mr Cardwell said that 13 traffic tickets were issued for unlicensed vehicles and 12 were issued for tints.

Another ten were issued for driving without insurance, four were issued for both driving without a licence and youth licence offences, two were given for licence-plate offences, and one was issued for driving a defective vehicle.

Five motorists were also given official warnings.

Mr Cardwell said the weekend was “extremely productive” and “proactive” for the police service.

He added: “On top of the roadside sobriety testing, officers also kept an eye on many of the social events occurring across the island. We are pleased that all of the events went off without incident.”