Phoenix Arizona Area Memorial Day DUI Checkpoint Data

Lake Pleasant Monday Checkpoint

Originally posted here:

Peoria police were part of a DUI check­point near Lake Pleasant Monday, which police spokesman Mike Tellef said was a success.

The check­point at Lake Pleasant was funded by a grant pro­vided by the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. There were eight agen­cies, includ­ing Peoria, that par­tic­i­pated in the task force. The other agen­cies were Phoenix, Goodyear, Tolleson, Avondale, Glendale and Surprise police depart­ments and State Liquor Control.

There were more than 35 offi­cers work­ing at the checkpoint.

Tellef said the DUI check­points are meant to pre­vent prob­lems, not to make arrests. The goal was to inform the pub­lic that it was hap­pen­ing, Tellef said, and deter peo­ple from dri­ving while intoxicated.

Several peo­ple who drove through said they knew about the check­point before­hand, “even one guy who was arrested,” Tellef said.

Total num­bers from all par­tic­i­pat­ing agencies

2008<———->2007

Contacts: 1,116<———->1,104

DUI: 6<———->8

Minor con­sump­tion: 0<———->17

Which was down from last year, accord­ing to the arti­cle here:

DUI arrests decline near Lake Pleasant

Police stopped more cars but made fewer arrests dur­ing a sobri­ety check­point Monday than they did on Memorial Day a year ago near Lake Pleasant.

And that’s good news, said Mike Tellef, a spokesman for the Peoria Police Department.

“If the num­bers are down, it’s some­thing pos­i­tive,” Tellef said. “It means that we’re get­ting out the mes­sage about drink­ing and dri­ving and using a des­ig­nated driver.”

From 3 to 6:45 p.m. Monday, police stopped 1,116 vehi­cles and made six arrests for dri­ving while intox­i­cated, Tellef said.

That com­pares with 1,104 stops a year ago and the arrest of 22 peo­ple, seven of them for DUI and 15 minors for under­age drink­ing or pos­ses­sion of alco­hol, Tellef said.

This year, no minors were taken into cus­tody, another pos­i­tive sign, Tellef said.

Law-enforcement offi­cers from nine agen­cies, includ­ing Avondale, El Mirage, Glendale, Peoria, Phoenix, Surprise and Tolleson, par­tic­i­pated in the check­point effort along Castle Hot Springs Road near Lake Pleasant.

Many motorists advised police they were alerted by news sto­ries about the check­point and planned accord­ingly, includ­ing the use of des­ig­nated dri­vers, Tellef said.

Every vehi­cle is stopped at a check­point. If an offi­cer detects any sign of impair­ment, fur­ther inves­ti­ga­tion is con­ducted to deter­mine if the dri­ver is under the influence.

In 1990, the U.S. Supreme Curt [sic] upheld the con­sti­tu­tion­al­ity of sobri­ety road­blocks to find drunken drivers.

We’re still wait­ing on final fig­ures for the valley/state, they were sup­posed to have come out yes­ter­day accord­ing to this arti­cle:

Sixty-five peo­ple were arrested on sus­pi­cion of dri­ving under the influ­ence Sunday dur­ing Memorial Day week­end DUI enforce­ment, the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety reports.

Officials said 84 offi­cers from 14 agen­cies con­tacted 613 peo­ple dur­ing the statewide enforce­ment effort. Enforcement began Friday and lasted through Monday. By Sunday, offi­cers had arrested 231 peo­ple on sus­pi­cion of DUI. Officers also wrote cita­tions for:

• Speeding, 338.

• Underage con­sump­tion, 29.

• Failing to wear seat belts, 13.

• Underage DUI, 7.

Final fig­ures for Memorial Day week­end are expected to be released today.