Sheriff’s Department steps up alcohol enforcement
66 vehicles were stopped in a DWI sobriety checkpoint on Saturday.
Published Sept. 21, 2010
The Boone County Sheriff’s Department conducted a sobriety checkpoint on Prathersville Road on Saturday, resulting in five alcohol related DWI arrests, one drug-related DWI arrest and one adult liquor law violation. About 66 vehicles were stopped.
The number of checkpoints has increased considerably since last year, and Columbia can expect more to come, Sgt. Brian Leer said.
“In the past year we have stepped up our alcohol enforcement projects,” Leer said. “We have conducted around 17 DWI saturations and checkpoints since Oct. 1 of 2009, which is a substantial increase from a couple years ago. We are much more likely to do them during warm months because the drinking and driving problem tends to get worse. That would explain why it seems there have been more checkpoints as of late.”
The Sheriff’s Department receives yearly grants to conduct at least six DWI saturations and six sobriety checkpoints. Leer said that although DWI saturations often result in more arrests, he believes sobriety checkpoints are more effective in reducing the number of drunk drivers over time.
“It’s been proven when you compare a DWI saturation to a sobriety checkpoint that checkpoints are a greater deterrence to drinking and driving,” Leer said. “We can come into contact with more people, and the fact that the general public knows what we’re doing also helps. I do believe that they increase the fear in people that they might get caught if they drink and drive.”
Although the number of minors in possession has increased in the past years, Leer attributes this to a change in the laws defining “possession.”
“It used to be that we would have to have a minor holding a beer to be in violation, but now the law includes consumption,” Leer said. “If we find a minor that has blood alcohol level greater than .02 they can be charged. Because of this, the numbers of minors in possession have gone up.”
Leer said MU students are not the targets of the checkpoints, but the Sherriff’s Department will continue to deal with underage drinking.
“Alcohol use and abuse has always been an issue in any area with folks under that age of 21, especially in a congregated area like a campus,” Leer said. “Underage drinking has been an issue forever and will continue to be one we have to address.”
Comments (2)
9:07 a.m., Sept. 23, 2010
4th Amendment said:
and here i was thinking that i existed so that you had to have some sort of suspicion before being able to stop, search, and interrogate innocent citizens. silly me, i forgot me and my other buddies dont apply any more.
4:01 a.m., Sept. 23, 2010
Brandon said:
How is this not unconstitutional?? Of course, I don't drink and drive, but COME ON. Isn't our entire legal system founded on "innocent until proven guilty", not the other way around? And what about the Fourth Amendment? We don't search every person walking the streets to see if they have a concealed gun and a criminal record, do we? We don't cut off the genitalia of every man who "looks like a rapist". Most store owners, despite the alleged tales of black folks being followed by convenience store owners or watched more closely than other races, DON'T watch every person super-closely to "make sure they don't steal." Aren't we strong enough as a state and nation to take a little risk in the name of defending our constitutional rights? Wasting everyone else's time for stupid little sobriety checks to find the 1 out of every 50 or 100 drivers who MIGHT be drunk is silly.