I have family in law enforcement in 3 different jurisdictions,and they all have said the same thing. Checkpoints are not as productive per manhour spent as roving patrols. If the ultimate goal is to get drunks off the road and save lives, then the more police we have spread out watching how people drive, the more effective they will be at achieving this goal. Checkpoints are very effective at making newscasts, and at nailing a few drunks, but they really aren’t a very efficient tool. Let’s look at some of the facts concerning Friday nights checkpoint on I-279.
It backed up traffic for several miles(yes, i know, a small price to pay to save lives)
The stopped 6242 cars and made 19 arrests. That is .3%
There were ‘more than’ 90 officers who participated in the checkpoint. It lasted 5.5 hours. With setup and prep time, it encompassed an entire 8 hour shift. It would be quite easy for an officer in a car on patrol on a weekend night to nab at least one drunk driver. So if each cop at the checkpoint had actually been on patrol, and found just one impaired driver during his or her 8 hour shift, then 90 would have arrested, not 19. Hell, even if only half the officers got a drunk, then it would still have gotten 45 drunks off the road.
Here is a checkpoint that was quite effective.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21505860/