A California investigation has found that sobriety checkpoints have caught more unlicensed motorists than drunks, creating a cash cow for local police departments that impound vehicles — mostly from minority drivers and often from illegal immigrants. But the 30-day seizures may be illegal.
In mounting such operations, police officers also racked up tens of millions of dollars in overtime pay.
The investigation, by California Watch and the Investigative Reporting Program at the University of California-Berkeley, says that last year, local police earned about $40 million from fines and towing fees, which cities split with tow companies. And cops collected $30 million in overtime — paid for by the federal government — for staffing the DUI checkpoints.
Other findings:
• Sobriety checkpoints frequently screen traffic in or near Latino neighborhoods. In cities with majority Latino populations, police are seizing cars at three times the rate of cities with small minority populations.
• Impounds appear to defy a 2005 federal appellate court ruling that police cannot seize vehicles just because the driver is unlicensed. More than 24,000 cars and trucks were impounded at checkpoints last year, even though only 3,200 motorists were arrested for drunken driving.
• Police departments frequently overstaff checkpoints with officers, all of whom earn overtime.
Leave a reply