Friday marked the first day of an annual three-week, multi-agency DUI crackdown throughout Santa Barbara County. The Sheriff’s Office and the DUI task force called Avoid the 12 — 12 law enforcement agencies participate — have received a $130,000 grant for the past 10 years to fund additional DUI checkpoints, warrant sweeps, and court stings throughout the year, with extra efforts during Memorial Day, Labor Day, and the holiday season. Sheriff Bill Brown, District Attorney Joyce Dudley, police officers, and firefighters gathered at the Sheriff’s headquarters on Friday morning to warn against drinking and driving.
Sgt. Kevin Huddle, who heads the DUI task force, told the crowd that 2,481 people were arrested in the county for driving while intoxicated in 2012, and 154 of those occurred during the three-week holiday period. He said there were no DUI-related deaths during the 2012 holiday season. In his experience, Huddle went on, many people arrested for driving under the influence claimed they were the designated driver. Further, stats show that a person arrested for a DUI had likely driven drunk approximately 80 times before they were caught.
Raymond Morua’s high-profile DUI hit-and-run case, which killed 27-year-old Mallory Rae Dies, serves as a reminder to abstain from drinking and driving, Huddle said. Congressmember Lois Capps, whom Morua worked for before he was terminated from his position as a district representative, was unable to attend the press conference as the House’s December session adjourned Friday, but Sheriff’s personnel distributed Capps’s written statement: “… [T]his year we know all too well how critical these messages are,” she said. “The recent tragedy that has impacted so many of us in the Santa Barbara community is a sad reminder to everyone of the awful results that come from drinking and driving.”
Comments
DUI checkpoints are unconstitutional and do not work.
"DUI defense attorneys in Washington D.C. have long believed that sobriety checkpoints are not only a waste of time, they are ineffective and a drain on taxpayer dollars as well.
...
Multi-agency sobriety checkpoints around major holidays are given a great deal of press, Longwell pointed out, but do little to actually address the problem of dangerous drivers.
Repeated studies, she said, have shown that states are far better off without them.
...
And finally, and perhaps most pointedly, Longwell assets that it has been proven that other poor driving habits – such as texting, speeding and driving while sleep-deprived – are more dangerous than driving with a blood alcohol content that is at 0.08 percent, which is the legal limit. However, checkpoints aren’t going to do anything to catch these offenders because officers aren’t able to see these offenders in action when they’re stopped at a checkpoint."
http://www.dc-dui-lawyer.com/washingt...
Patrols are in fact more effective as truly dangerous drivers can be picked out when they are actually driving their car.
loonpt (anonymous profile)
December 13, 2013 at 8:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandt...
loonpt (anonymous profile)
December 13, 2013 at 8:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)
http://www.cdc.gov/MotorVehicleSafety...
I prefer to listen to scientists insted of lawyers.
deniseL (anonymous profile)
December 13, 2013 at 9:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I prefer not to be stopped unconstitutionally by the Federal Department of Homeland Security. I wish that was mentioned in the article because:
"12 law enforcement agencies participate"
is a little vague..
However I know the Dept. of Homeland Security will be there.
And I hope you don't use the CDC for your health information, they'll probably turn you into a zombie or something some day.
loonpt (anonymous profile)
December 14, 2013 at 12:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I wonder who chooses the checkpoint locations? For instance, would you put it right outside the Bacara after a hootenanny, or would you throw it in old town Goleta? Or in Monticeito, or on the east side? Hmmm something smells funny in Denmark.
bimboteskie (anonymous profile)
December 14, 2013 at 1:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Nope loonpt Dept of Homeland is not involved
http://www.edhat.com/site/tidbit.cfm?...
And the checkpoints were ruled constitutional by the supreme court, read the links before you post. Even the dui lawyers say they are legal here
http://www.duicheckpoints.net/areduic...
deniseL (anonymous profile)
December 14, 2013 at 8:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Yes....better to do nothing about the drunk drivers....let them kill a few more people.
Good luck SantaBarbara.
zuma7 (anonymous profile)
December 14, 2013 at 4:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Hey zuma7, I am wondering which commenter in this thread you are referring to when you say 'do nothing about the drunk drivers'? Was there somebody who commented and said that nothing should be done about drunk drivers and that comment was deleted by the staff? Or are you imagining a post in your head that does not exist?
Surely you couldn't have referred to my posts which specifically stated that "Patrols are in fact more effective [than checkpoints] as truly dangerous drivers can be picked out when they are actually driving their car."
loonpt (anonymous profile)
December 14, 2013 at 6:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I went through a DUI checkpoint last night in Lompoc. The cop told me they busted a guy with a 0.27 blood alcohol content.
billclausen (anonymous profile)
December 15, 2013 at 12:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I just hope they don't shoot anyone.
JohnLocke (anonymous profile)
December 15, 2013 at 10:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Glad to hear DHS is not involved.... YET....
They are known to be involved in DUI checkpoint operations in the states of TN and LA:
http://www.knoe.com/story/24197181/we...
bill, how may people with .27 BAC were driving around and didn't go through the checkpoint? Might one of them been pulled over on a regular night with regular patrolling units? Might more have been caught if there were more patrolling units looking for reckless drivers? The idea is that if all those cops who are concentrated on that one part of the road were instead on patrol, they would be able to see somebody driving recklessly and stop them.
DUI checkpoints are unconstitutional despite what the Supreme Court might say. Patrolling units are less invasive because people can avoid police contact by obeying traffic laws.
loonpt (anonymous profile)
December 15, 2013 at 11:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)