The article below was originally published by the Arizona Daily Star on August 26, 2007.
Of special note are the numbers showing sheriff deputies have been paid over $140,000 in overtime from federal grants to conduct DUI roadblocks and that less than half of those arrested at these roadblocks have actually been convicted. Since the arrest rate is already abysmally low at 0.6%, the conviction rate for all motorists needlessly harassed over the past two years is less than 0.3%.
Given the obvious ineffectiveness of these checkpoint regimes, it’s important to point out that our right to travel and our right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure are being violated so that cops can earn overtime pay from their federal handlers.
An important question to consider is how many accidents or deaths have been caused by drunk drivers who weren’t taken off the streets, based upon probable cause, because cops were too busy harassing 46,000+ responsible drivers at suspicionless roadblocks across the county….
Continue reading “Arizona Daily Star: ‘DUI checkpoints costly, catch few’”