Sobriety checkpoints questioned

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Critics say checkpoints can be avoided easily because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

CINCINNATI (AP) — Alcohol-related traffic accidents continue to be a problem in southwest Ohio, despite an increase in police checkpoints used to identify drunken drivers, a newspaper reported Sunday.

The checkpoints are popular with law enforcement agencies hoping to deter drunken driving. Since January 2006, 40 checkpoints in counties in and around Cincinnati — Hamilton, Warren, Butler and Clermont — led to 261 DUI arrests, according to an analysis by The Cincinnati Enquirer.

That's 261 out of more than 17,000 vehicles checked, or about one DUI arrest for every 67 vehicles, the newspaper said.

Chuck Strain, a Cincinnati defense attorney who handles DUI cases, dismisses sobriety checkpoints as "mainly a publicity stunt with lots of police overtime."

Ohio still had 462 fatal alcohol-related crashes in 2006, a figure that is not trending downward, The Enquirer said.

DUI checkpoints are joint operations. Police departments and sheriff's offices usually combine forces with the Ohio State Highway Patrol, which brings extra personnel and expertise.

Federal and state grants help local law enforcement agencies pay the overtime for some officers, the newspaper said.

Cincinnati Police Capt. Dan Gerard said checkpoints cost about $2,500 each — but that's just for overtime and doesn't include regular salaries for officers. He argues the expense is worth it, considering the average person taken off the road for a DUI arrest at a Cincinnati checkpoint has a blood-alcohol content of 0.155 — almost double the state's legal limit of 0.08.

"I would be very happy with zero checkpoint arrests" if it meant fewer drunken drivers on the road, Gerard said.

Checkpoint criticism

Critics say drunken drivers can easily avoid sobriety checkpoints because a 1990 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court required police to announce the location of checkpoints in advance. The same ruling also affirmed that properly conducted sobriety checkpoints do not violate constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Most stops at checkpoints take less than 40 seconds, The Enquirer said. Only motorists suspected of being impaired — based on erratic driving, odor of alcohol, slurred speech or open bottles — are asked to get of out of their cars.

Supporters say the checkpoints also help nab car thieves, drug dealers and illegal immigrants.

Sharonville Police Lt. Mark Preuss, who heads the Hamilton County DUI Task Force, said more checkpoints are needed, not less.

"Once in a blue moon just doesn't get the message across," he said.

Monday, July 2, 2007