SPECIAL REPORT: DUI Checkpoints, Do They Work?
PALM SPRINGS- In 2010 over 1,000 people will die in drunk driving crashes in California. Local police believe DUI checkpoints are a way to save lives while a national organization says there are other more efficient ways. Palm Springs driver, Holly Connor says they are all over the place. Allan Borges of Palm Springs said he went through one on Super Bowl Sunday.
Last year the Palm Springs Police Department spent more than $100,000 on eight DUI checkpoints. The money funded through the California Department of Traffic Safety was given to the city of Palm Springs through grants. Sarah Longwell with The American Beverage Institute out of Washington D.C.says, “There’s a far less expensive more effective mean called roving patrols that puts police officers out on the streets looking for negligent drivers of all kinds, speeding or drunk.” The Palm Springs Police admits roving patrols catch more DUI drivers but it says they lose the education.
On Friday January 8th, Palm Springs Police officersset up aDUI checkpoint on Ramon Road just east of Sunrise Way. In 2010 the Palm Springs Police Department plans on spending $236,000 of your taxpayer dollars. More than 12 officers staffed the checkpoint for seven hours.In the end,officers screened 553 drivers and arrested fourfor DUI, that’s a 7/10th’s of 1% arrest rate.
In 2009, the California Highway Patrol screened 100,377 drivers across California and made 458DUI arrests.They had a4/10th’s of1% arrest rate. While the numbers don’t sound good, California Highway Patrol Officer Ramon Perez says,”You hear the critics say that they are expensive,but we’re out there to educate the public, if you don’t educate they are going to keep doing the bad things.”
The American Beverage Institute saysDUI checkpoints catch moderate responsible drinkers,not the heavily intoxicated ones. Longwell says,”What we want is targeted enforcement, police officers on the streets looking for dangerous drivers of all kinds, not pulling police officers off the streets, putting them in one spot in the hopes that a drunk driver might wander through, that is not a good use of taxpayer dollars.”
When it comes toDUI checkpoints that may have you waiting in line for a couple minutes, most drivers we spoke with say they don’t mind.Borges says “We just can’t let that situation go by. I know people who have been affected, how do you monetize a life?”
While the City of Palm Springs is in a $4million dollar budget deficit,thePolice Department is spendingFederal money not city taxpayer dollars. The grants only allow them toapply it to traffic safety not towardssaving officer jobs.
