[granite]

California Cops Exploit DUI Checkpoints to Bring in Money for Cities, Police California police are turning DUI checkpoints into profitable operations that are far more likely to seize cars from unlicensed minority motorists than catch drunken drivers.

[wendy1946]

Are there any instances of innocent and totally sober people failing these tests and having property taken?

Not playing devil's advocate here, just curious.

[mkjessup]

This should come as no surprise to anyone, once the fascists acquire ANY amount of power, they will never relinquish it.

“Ist your papers in order, Herr Citizen?”

And the sheeple all bleat “baaaaaaWOHL!”

[Seruzawa]

Criminals in uniform.

[Spirochete]

The New “Highway Robbery”: Money-Making DUI Roadblocks Growing

I see potential for a new iPhone app.

[El Gran Salseron]

This highlights DUI stops as a means of illicit income but regular ol’ traffic stop for “violations” are just another means of providing “income” to the state.

Big Brother and all of his henchmen just want the income. They couldn’t care less about “public safety”.

We should work to change the law so that any traffic violation would result in mandatory jail time with no fine.

How many traffic tickets would get written?

[microgood]

The US. Supreme Court ruled in Michigan v. Sitz that although a DUI roadblock does constitute a violation of the Fourth Amendment, the governmentalal interest in reducing drunk driving fatalities outweighs the "minimal intrusion" into a citizen’s constitutional rights.

There is a special place in he@@ waiting for those in SCOTUS that supported this ruling.

[Pessimist]

I think the importance of these roadblocks is that they are accepted by society. We have become desensitized to being strong armed by our overlords.

[robomatik]

one @sshole cop in the town of higginsport, ohio, would pull EVERYONE over at night (even locals). the expression, "don't shiite where you eat," comes to mind.

that cop was fired and run out of town.

but, i'm sure he brought in a lot of funds in the interim. ;)

[Grunthor]

“The New “Highway Robbery”: Money-Making DUI Roadblocks Growing”

While I don’t care for police roadblocks (slows down traffic) has anybody ever tried....oh, I dunno, NOT drinking and driving?

[dalereed]

I hope they set them up every day and night.

I don’t personally give a damn about drunks but they catch the illegals and those without licenses and insurance!!!

[absolootezer0]

The US. Supreme Court ruled in Michigan v. Sitz that although a DUI roadblock does constitute a violation of the Fourth Amendment, the governmentalal interest in reducing drunk driving fatalities outweighs the "minimal intrusion" into a citizen’s constitutional rights.

while MI says that its basically ok to stop a driver for no reason but under the guise of "sobriety testing", you can't stop a pedestrian on "suspicion" of public intoxication.
is that maybe because the state doesn't make any money from drunk pedestrians- unless they get injured/ killed?

[jiggyboy]

I see three to four times as many CHP cars on the major highways this year as I ever have. Many days I see one waiting in ambush, dealing with a “customer”, in pursuit of one with lights on, or in traffic every ten miles/minutes or less for the better part of an hour.

[Buckeye McFrog]

3. The US. Supreme Court ruled in Michigan v. Sitz that although a DUI roadblock does constitute a violation of the Fourth Amendment, the governmentalal interest in reducing drunk driving fatalities outweighs the “minimal intrusion” into a citizen’s constitutional rights.

I lived in Michigan at the time when our super-uber-liberal Governor Jim Blanchard pushed this all the way to the SCOTUS. Most people don’t realize that the plaintiffs then sued in Michigan court under the Michigan State Constitution, and the Michigan Supreme Court tossed DUI checkpoints for violating the State Constitution.

So apparently the State Constitution of Michigan provides more citizen protection than the US Constitution. Meanwhile all the rest of us are stuck with DUI checkpoints.

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

Use of the criminal code to raise revenue is bad government on at least two levals: it erodes the perception of the state as a force for right, and it destroys the states neutrality in that money becomes the object not law and/or justice.

[randomhero97]

ping

[bamahead]

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[CSM]

How can you possibly be FOR drunk driving?

(is a sarc tag really required?)

[denydenydeny]

• Sobriety checkpoints frequently screen traffic within, or near, Hispanic neighborhoods. Cities where Hispanics represent a majority of the population are seizing cars at three times the rate of cities with small minority populations. In South Gate, a Los Angeles County city where Hispanics make up 92 percent of the population, police confiscated an average of 86 vehicles per operation last fiscal year.

I guarantee they're not screening for legal residency, because (among other reasons) there is no money in it.

[Republic of Texas]

In my early youth as na'er do well, I was arrested for a controlled substance. The detective wanted to confiscate my car. He asked what it was worth, about $1000. He asked what I owed, about $1500. End of conversation.

[Munz]

There are a few things I would like to comment on but first.

I went to the link and got this error:
>The page you are looking for no longer exists. Perhaps you can find what you are looking for by searching the site archives by page, month, or category:<

You said in the beginning of your post:
>So why are cops using more and more DUI roadblocks? Simple: They are goldmines.<

Cops don’t make money off this and probably would prefer not to stand out on the street and do this type of work. They are given orders to do so. The way it is phrased could easily be construed that the police profit from and make the decisions to do this. They don’t. They are given directives from politicians who tell the chief / Sheriff to do it and they are deployed.

It is kind of unfair to paint police as the aggressors in all this. What can they do? Refuse to do the road block as ordered?

>1. It is illegal to stop a citizen without probable cause to believe they have violated the law.<

Incorrect. Reasonable suspicion is all that is necessary under the law. A person may be stopped and questioned as to their identity if a crime has been committed or is believed to be “afoot” (in the process of being committed) according to the USSC last time I checked.

>2. A roadblock constitutes a stop without probable cause.<

I disagree, it is being applied uniformly, no different than any road check for any other activity. Be it inspections, bald tires, invalid registrations, or “informational” stops as road checks. (Ie a crime is committed on a certain evening on a desolate stretch of a county back road where there are residential traffic. No leads are produced. the police may institute a check and stop every vehicle at the same time the next evening to see if any passer bye’s may have seen anything, if that is a course of regular travel at that time for them)

Perhaps there is even more reason to do this since you are checking the welfare of drivers as they pass. certainly no law against checking to ensure safety is being complied with onthe road for all drivers.

>So…A cop can’t stop you to check for registration or license, possible equipment violations, open containers, seat belt checks, etc.<

This is serious news to me. Maybe someone should tell the State of New York because it is perfectly acceptable to do so. even on the tickets the type of “arrest” has a number on it to indicate how the violator was found and “road check” is one of the numbers.

I wouldn’t believe so much coming out of Berkley California reporters myself.