Police step up checkpoints during holidays
The holidays have arrived, meaning Inland Valley roads will soon be bustling with motorists going to and from their Christmas shindigs and company luncheons.
Also on the roads -- police checkpoints.
Knowing that drunken driving spikes this time of year, law-enforcement agencies throughout the county step up checkpoints and DUI patrols through New Year's Day.
Checkpoints have become a pesky reality for motorists and lately, they have been rather controversial.
Also on the roads -- police checkpoints.
Knowing that drunken driving spikes this time of year, law-enforcement agencies throughout the county step up checkpoints and DUI patrols through New Year's Day.
Checkpoints have become a pesky reality for motorists and lately, they have been rather controversial.
While some swear by their effectiveness in nabbing inebriated drivers, others contend racial profiling could be at play.
Another group to enter the checkpoint fray this season -- the American Beverage Institute.
The Washington D.C.-based restaurant trade group advocates roving patrols, in which officers seek out drunken or erratic drivers.
"If you're the kind of person who would drink irresponsibly, you can find out where the checkpoints are and go around them," said Sarah Longwell, spokeswoman for the American Beverage Institute. "Checkpoints target those who don't drink at all, drink moderately -- like a beer at a ball game or a glass of wine over dinner.
Checkpoints leave chronic alcohol abusers on the road, she said.
But law enforcement officials contend that although checkpoints don't get every drunken driver, they catch some and, in the process, also find drivers without insurance, registration or license.
That's typically the case in San Bernardino, said police officials who have scheduled three checkpoints through the holiday season.
"I think they're very effective," said Lt. Scott Paterson. "We arrest quite a few people who are driving under the influence but we find a bunch of safety violations."
In addition to checkpoints and saturation patrols, three deputies in Rancho Cucamonga are dedicated to DUI enforcement, patrolling the streets in later hours looking for drunken drivers, said San Bernardino County sheriff's Capt. Joe Cusimano.
"I don't look at checkpoints as a catch-all, it's one tool to reduce drunk driving," Cusimano said. "We have a lot of bars in the city -- there's bars in every restaurant -- so we're dealing with intoxicated drivers on a regular basis. We have to do whatever we can to combat it."
Most agencies agree that checkpoints have more positives than negatives, but have a harder time pinning down how effective they are.
Fontana police Sgt. Jeff Decker said the checkpoints play a part in keeping the streets safer during holiday celebrations, but arrest numbers don't tell the whole story.
"You can't always tell just by the numbers how effective they are because you don't know how many drivers you're deterring" by having the checkpoint, he said.
The city will hold just one drunken-driving checkpoint this holiday season but have 12 nights scheduled for saturation patrols.
Most Inland Valley cities receive state grants to conduct checkpoints and most agencies notify the media before the scheduled checkpoints.
Some agencies even disclose the time and location.
Giving the public advance notice defies common sense, Longwell said.
She contends patrols are more successful because officers can also catch distracted or drowsy drivers.
"We represent restaurants and we want 10 people to have one drink, never one person to have 10 drinks," Longwell said. "We want to make sure people are sensible, not hysterical, about alcohol policy."
Staff writer Stacia Glenn contributed to this report.
wendy.leung@inlandnewspapers.com
Another group to enter the checkpoint fray this season -- the American Beverage Institute.
The Washington D.C.-based restaurant trade group advocates roving patrols, in which officers seek out drunken or erratic drivers.
"If you're the kind of person who would drink irresponsibly, you can find out where the checkpoints are and go around them," said Sarah Longwell, spokeswoman for the American Beverage Institute. "Checkpoints target those who don't drink at all, drink moderately -- like a beer at a ball game or a glass of wine over dinner.
Checkpoints leave chronic alcohol abusers on the road, she said.
But law enforcement officials contend that although checkpoints don't get every drunken driver, they catch some and, in the process, also find drivers without insurance, registration or license.
That's typically the case in San Bernardino, said police officials who have scheduled three checkpoints through the holiday season.
"I think they're very effective," said Lt. Scott Paterson. "We arrest quite a few people who are driving under the influence but we find a bunch of safety violations."
In addition to checkpoints and saturation patrols, three deputies in Rancho Cucamonga are dedicated to DUI enforcement, patrolling the streets in later hours looking for drunken drivers, said San Bernardino County sheriff's Capt. Joe Cusimano.
"I don't look at checkpoints as a catch-all, it's one tool to reduce drunk driving," Cusimano said. "We have a lot of bars in the city -- there's bars in every restaurant -- so we're dealing with intoxicated drivers on a regular basis. We have to do whatever we can to combat it."
Most agencies agree that checkpoints have more positives than negatives, but have a harder time pinning down how effective they are.
Fontana police Sgt. Jeff Decker said the checkpoints play a part in keeping the streets safer during holiday celebrations, but arrest numbers don't tell the whole story.
"You can't always tell just by the numbers how effective they are because you don't know how many drivers you're deterring" by having the checkpoint, he said.
The city will hold just one drunken-driving checkpoint this holiday season but have 12 nights scheduled for saturation patrols.
Most Inland Valley cities receive state grants to conduct checkpoints and most agencies notify the media before the scheduled checkpoints.
Some agencies even disclose the time and location.
Giving the public advance notice defies common sense, Longwell said.
She contends patrols are more successful because officers can also catch distracted or drowsy drivers.
"We represent restaurants and we want 10 people to have one drink, never one person to have 10 drinks," Longwell said. "We want to make sure people are sensible, not hysterical, about alcohol policy."
Staff writer Stacia Glenn contributed to this report.
wendy.leung@inlandnewspapers.com
I agree that racial profiling takes place during these checkpoints. I was waved through without a glance at my registration, drivers license, or insurance card. But I am white and was driving a newer car. There were quite a few hispanic and black drivers that were detained and had cars being towed. The PD wasn't checking everyone.....and after sitting in line for 2 hours I can tell you that there wasn't a pattern like let 2 go then check the next one.......
Patrols for drunk driving are looking for drunk drivers.....have you seen the statistics published in the paper after one of the checkpoints - they nab a couple of drunks but mainly get the license and insurance people.
State law requires that checkpoints be posted with temporary signs before hand. They are also conducted only on major streets, usually adjacent to commercial or industrial areas where there are places to pull people over without harassing residents. Arguably this decreases safety since any drunk with an average IQ just drives down residential streets, secondary arterials rather than major arterials (i.e., in Rancho Cucamonga, Hermosa and Rochester instead of Milliken and Haven), or the freeway. In these cases they travel through neighborhoods where there are more likely to be kids and other pedestrians in the street; or they are on the freeway traveling at higher speeds than on arterials.
In addition, officers like to ask questions that people feel obligated to answer, like "Where are you going" (which I usually give a non-committal answer like "somewhere" or just say "I'm doing fine" or something that doesn't answer the question, and forces them to reconsider whether they want to ask the question again). While they have the right to ask anything they want, I have the right to ignore them (just show my ID and shut up about anything else)... but I do resent the intrusion.
Drunk driving patrols get drunks, cell phone users (as bad as drinking), stolen vehicles (no car thief drives through a checkpoint... they would just as soon pull into a parking lot, get out of the car and abandon it), and other folks who should not be driving off the road. Catching folks at checkpoints is easy, but it is also lazy policing.
Calwatch, you are completely wrong about checkpoints being "lazy" policing. It is much more enjoyable and easy for a policeman to be riding around in his car and pull people over occassionally than to be standing around for hours asking questions. Use your head.
While it may be more effective to use checkpoints because it enables an officer to check someone he would not have the opportunity to check if he was on patrol without probable cause, this has more to do with opportunity than laziness. But the officers involved would much rather be driving their cars on patrol than standing around for hours doing the boring task of checking out cars stopped at the checkpoint.
It does however give them the opportunity to get a lot of unlicensed drivers, unregistered vehicles, and uninsured vehicles off of our streets.