The Long Beach Police Department will conduct a driver checkpoint tomorrow from 7PM to 3AM somewhere in the southern region of Long Beach. The checkpoint will be screening not only for those driving under the influence, but also for unlicensed and uninsured drivers.
Last month’s DUI saturation patrol—which included an increase in units in a specific area—resulted in 11 arrests during the eight-hour patrol, with three vehicles being impounded and other violations being cited.
These checkpoints, often cited inaccurately by critics as allowing drunk drivers to “escape” citation (given the public announcement of such checkpoints), have actually been proven as the most effective strategy documented in enforcing DUIs.
Evidence suggests that such announcements deter bar patrons from getting behind the wheel by simple fear of passing through the checkpoint, proving much more efficient than advertising campaigns and regular patrolling.
It should be noted that any law enforcement agency must publicly announce such checkpoints, however, they are not legally required to specify where the checkpoint will be at.
In a release by the LBPD, Sergeant Douglas stated, “Over the past three years, DUI collisions have claimed 14 lives and resulted in 306 injury crashes harming 437 of our friends and neighbors.”