Half of all people arrested by Wayland police over the past three years were charged with driving under the influence, and the vast majority of them were out-of-town motorists.
Most arrested were men, and most of the arrests occurred during the summer. The drivers resided in Greater Boston and communities bordering Wayland but also in places like Denver and Old Orchard Beach, Maine, department records show.
A Wayland Post analysis of local police logs found that OUIs account for 49% of arrests in 2023 through 2025.
“That is going to be our most common arrest,” Acting Wayland Police Chief Mark Hebert said.
He attributed the number of out-of-town residents arrested to the “transient traffic” on multiple major routes between Boston and Worcester going through town.
“We’re kind of a cut-through community with a lot of commuter traffic going through us,” Hebert said.
Only eight of the 56 people arrested for OUI between 2023 and 2025 were Wayland residents, including three women, one of whom crashed her car with children in it near the Sandy Burr Country Club, department records show. One Wayland resident crashed his car, with an open container of alcohol inside in 2023 and then attempted to flee the scene, while another hit a utility pole in 2024.
While Hebert could not recall a recent fatal drunk driving incident, he said some have resulted in property damage and “pretty serious injuries.” Arrests for drunk driving used to be more frequent in Wayland, Hebert said.
“When I first started, before the advent of Uber and Lyft and the ride-sharing culture, there was a lot. We’d have dozens over the years, probably close to 40 or 50 OUI [arrests per year],” Hebert said. “Now it’s probably trailed down to maybe a couple dozen for the year.”
Mary Kate DePamphilis, program director for the nonprofit Mothers Against Drunk Driving in Massachusetts, works with victims in the MetroWest area, which has a “culture” of drinking and driving like most other communities in the state, she said.
The average person arrested for OUI has driven intoxicated 80 times before their first arrest, MADD claims. DePamphilis said this means a higher number of arrests could indicate that law enforcement in the area is doing a “great job.”
“We strongly urge those who are drinking or using cannabis to plan ahead for a sober driver, ride share, or public transportation,” DePamphilis said.
Hebert said the MetroWest town of 14,000 residents experiences little violent crime, allowing the department to focus on traffic enforcement.
“The behavior of people driving while they’re intoxicated is something that concerns me, and I wish we could enforce more out of the community and reduce it even further,” Hebert said. “But I think the fact that we are making the arrests speaks to that we’re out there trying to find OUI cases and remove those operators from the roadway.”
The department’s total arrests have risen by nearly 12% in the past three years, nearly half of which were for OUI. The same charge declined statewide by almost 7% for the same three years, state data shows.
Massachusetts fell in the middle of all U.S. states for the number of drunk driving arrests in 2024, according to a report issued last year by the commercial research site SafeHome.org.
Lauren Keating, a clinician who works with the Wayland Police Department, responds to calls involving substance abuse and mental health issues. She said she has seen little illicit drug use in Wayland, and most incidents she is involved in revolve around problems with alcohol.
“I only know the stories about those who do have an incident and get involved with the police somehow because of the drinking,” Keating said. “But I’m sure there’s a lot more going on out there that you might not know about. And that kind of unknown makes me leery, just wanting to make sure there are resources out there for people, even if they aren’t popping up on our radar.”
Besides operating under the influence, Hebert said Wayland police most frequently make arrests for domestic violence as well as other criminal charges.
Police logs show one Wayland resident was arrested for harassment, stalking and violating a restraining order in 2023. Another Wayland resident was arrested for kidnapping, assault and battery on a family member, and obstructing a witness in 2024. That same year, police arrested a Framingham man for assault and battery on his ex-wife, who was transported to the hospital with a laceration to her face. A Mansfield resident was also arrested last year for violating a harassment prevention order.
In 2024, Wayland Police arrested a Schenectady, N.Y., woman for trying to cash a bank note with false identification at the Village Bank. After police were alerted to a car with North Carolina plates outside an abandoned house, police arrested a 36-year-old New Hampshire man found inside. Months later, a Malden man was arrested for trying to break into the Wayland Public Safety Building on Cochituate Road and charged with breaking and entering, credit card larceny and identity fraud. In 2025, Wayland police arrested a Waltham resident for assault and battery on an elderly person, resisting arrest and a felony charge of breaking into a building.
Others have been arrested for outstanding warrants, speeding and assault, police records show.