Posted on 09/15/2010 10:40:09 AM PDT by Drew68
CHULA VISTA — It can be a tough place for a cop to find a drunken driver.
Traffic checkpoints in Chula Vista funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the federal government are netting an average of four arrests each, according to police, and many have yielded no drunken drivers.
Police aren’t complaining. They say the main thrust of a checkpoint is to serve as a deterrent.
“People are just getting use to the idea that if you drive drunk, you’re going to get caught,” said Chula Vista police Agent Rusty Rea.
The numbers Rea really cares about are those of alcohol-related traffic deaths. He says there were none through the first half of the year. In 2009, six people were killed in traffic collisions involving alcohol.
On the other hand, there were 95 people hurt in accidents involving alcohol in 2005. Last year, 112 people were injured in alcohol-related crashes, according to police.
Between Aug. 1, 2009 and July 31, Chula Vista police conducted 40 DUI checkpoints within the city limits. The department was also involved in 12 additional checkpoints elsewhere in the county. Each checkpoint costs about $7,000 to operate, police said.
Less than one-third of the 648 DUI arrests were made at those checkpoints, police say. At a pair of checkpoints last weekend, a total of eight people were arrested on suspicion of drunken driving.
The checkpoints, however, are aimed at more than nabbing drunken drivers. Last weekend, for example, police impounded a total of 55 vehicles at the two checkpoints because drivers had a suspended license or no license at all.
Chula Vista police Sgt. Henry Martin, who oversees the checkpoints for the city, said locations are chosen based on potential impact — including the impact a checkpoint has on deterring drunken driving.
On average, a checkpoint requires two dispatch officers, two parking control officers, a community service officer, 12 to 16 police officers and a sergeant.
The Chula Vista Police Department is operating comprehensive drunken driving enforcement and education program through four grants. They include a $615,000 Race Legal grant, a $525,000 DUI Prosecution Grant, a $183,000 DUI Enforcement Grant, a $177.000 DUI Mini Grant and a $40,000 “Avoid the 14” grant for DUI saturation patrols.
Numbers aside, Sgt. Martin says the checkpoints are making a big impact.
“People see us out there every weekend and they start to think,” Martin said. “They know we’re cracking down.”
I found myself in a checkpoint while crossing the bridge to return to Coronado last Memorial Day weekend. I spent 45 minutes on the bridge while watching the temperature gauge on my car creep north. Looked on the web the next morning and learned that zero people were arrested for DUI.
While this is a local article, I'd be these trends are experienced by law enforcement across the country. These days DUIs are a lot worse than they used to be. They're career killers. I know that if I got one, I'd lose my security clearance, my rate and then my job.
We’re all criminals anyway. There’s enough laws now that everyone is guilty of some infraction.
Obama can take credit. We’re all drinking at home — can’t afford to go out.
So they are not getting as many drunks. Maybe true, but just check Twitter and you can follow the check points and avoid them.
” Looked on the web the next morning and learned that zero people were arrested for DUI. “
I’ll bet that if you’d looked a bit deeper, you’d find that, while there were zero DUIs, there were a multitude of license/registration/insurance/”broken lights” tickets written...
The city will always get its revenue first.....
BS. Here is a recent story about a checkpoint in Escondido (Northern San Diego County)
Police cited 47 and arrested 9 people. They also impounded 29 vehicles.
All of this means revenue for the cash strapped city. And, THAT is the reason for the checkpoints.
My niece mentioned that students in her class send texts to family and friends when they see a checkpoint or speed trap. No doubt some of them pass it on...
Then they'll just have to put the checkpoints outside the bars' parking lots.............
O! The environmental impact! How can they permit so many vehicles to sit idling and belching death gases? Does the EPA know about this?
Checkpoints smack of totalitarianism. I wonder if technology is defeating them, with people texting their locations to their friends, who take another route if they are drinking. Just like the CB radio days.
Bingo....We were just talking about that...
No joke...
We quit going to restaruants, parties etc....Those are places for good times....
Not these times...
In fact, I even quit smoking cigars because the AH's kept jacking up the prices....
F that! .....And the corrupt government taxes------I'd didn't need either!
....I'm not joking...
The king and all the kings men use it as an excuse to jack up your taxes....Every time you call.....
The corrupt mayors and city councils say, ""Duh, see, all these people called the cops for whatever....Duh, we need more cops and equipment to keep up...and duh, we need bigger raises and bigger government pensions too!!""
Screw that crap....
Checkpoints yielding fewer drunken drivers
____________________________________________
That means less revenue for local LEO’s.
I wonder what they can try next?
Better than some innocent family being killed by a drunk driver...
Agreed.
On the flip side, I couldn't imagine waking up in a jail cell, hungover, groggy and being informed that I killed somebody. I see these people on the news, otherwise law-abiding, productive members of society, bawling as they're being led away to serve long jail sentences that they're not prepared for all the while knowing they've committed the horrible act of causing the death of another.
I don't ever want to be that person. As such, I won't drive after even one beer.
The main point of the checkpoints is to raise money for the DUI business.
I agree with you. Drunk driving “prevention” and “enforcement” has become a huge racket in this country.
If anyone gets caught the best thing is to plead...Broke.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.