The Norman Police Department conducted a sobriety checkpoint at the intersection of Constitution Street and Dewey Avenue on Friday night.
The checkpoint is part of a national campaign called “Drunk Driving. Over the Limit, Under Arrest.”
Locally, the Norman Police are employing tactics such as sobriety checkpoints and increasing patrols to catch drunk drivers, Capt. J.D. Younger said.
The two-week period between Aug. 15 and Sept. 1 was chosen for increased monitoring because it encompasses Labor Day weekend, typically the last party weekend of the summer, and students’ return to school.
Younger said the police decide where to set up a checkpoint by scouting for a high-traffic area that is safe for officers and drivers.
Once the checkpoint is set up, officers briefly stop every car that passes from either direction and question the driver to determine whether the driver is intoxicated. If an officer thinks the driver may be impaired, the officer will ask the driver to pull over so field sobriety tests can be conducted.
As drivers pass through the checkpoint, an officer waiting between electronic flares set up in the middle of the street stops cars.
On Friday night, one of these officers was Josh Zoller, who said it was his third time working a sobriety checkpoint.
Norman police conduct about six checkpoints a year, Younger said. Police usually spend about four hours conducting checkpoints and stop between 400 and 800 cars during that time.
When it conducts checkpoints, the department pays 14 or 15 officers overtime pay to work the checkpoint, in addition to the 12 to 14 officers already on duty.
“It’s manpower-intensive to run one of these operations,” Younger said.
At checkpoints set up by the department in the past, between three and 13 impaired drivers have been caught, Younger said.
Zoller said officers look for red eyes, slurred speech and slowed movements when conducting field sobriety tests, Zoller said.
Field sobriety tests do not involve the use of breathalyzer tests.
There are very specific laws that police officers must adhere to when conducting checkpoints. Younger said officers are required to stop every car. And while the time spent at a checkpoint is not regulated by law, the department’s goal is to cause no more than a 25-second delay for drivers.
However, not everyone in Norman thinks the checkpoints are beneficial for police officers or drivers.
Michael Fons, letters sophomore, said he thinks stopping every driver who drives on a certain street is a waste of the department’s resources.
“I think the intent is good. However, my point of view is that it would be kind of a hassle to sit there and stop everybody that came by,” Fons said.
Zoller said most people who pass through the checkpoints are cooperative and friendly.
“Keep it up,” one driver said to the officers as he passed Friday night.
Younger said he thinks conducting checkpoints cuts down on the prevalence of drunk driving and improves the quality of life in Norman.
“We think that’s a really important effort,” he said.
The Norman police typically arrest about 750 people a year for driving under the influence, Younger said. According to the press release, the department arrested 784 people in 2007.
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local_yokel 3 years, 9 months ago
How many people were busted?