Nice expose from a local news affiliate in California. Nut:

The concern is that police are not only using the checkpoints as a way to enforce other laws but also as a way to make money — especially since cities such as Sacramento make $70 every time they impound a car at a DUI checkpoint, even if that car’s driver was not suspected of drinking and driving.

[...]

Records show that at the Sacramento Police Department’s last five DUI checkpoints, officers arrested 22 suspected drunken drivers. But they also wrote 315 citations and impounded 259 vehicles belonging to people arrested for driving without a license or driving on a suspended license.

[...]

“It’s misrepresentation. It’s almost a fraudulent use of resources,” state Sen. Gilbert Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, said.

Again, in Michigan vs. Sitz, the Supreme Court okayed roadblocks only for use in detecting and apprehending drunk drivers. It’s unfortunate (but not surprising) that the Court didn’t foresee abuses like these.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 11th, 2005 at 6:17 pm by Radley Balko and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.