We can’t make this stuff up.
A police department in Wisconsin has proposed holding “voluntary sobriety checkpoints,” in which motorists can choose to be screened or avoid it. The Police Chief in charge of the proposed stunt, Kevin Wilkinson, said “he hopes at least one in 10 motorists will stop.” We won’t hold our breath.
You see, sobriety checkpoints are illegal in Wisconsin because state law says that officers only can detain motorists based on a reasonable suspicion of a violation. So, why would the police chief – the highest authority on stopping crime and keeping residents safe – station a dozen officers at a voluntary checkpoint that will be easily avoided by every single criminal? Supposedly to serve as a (surprise, surprise) PR gimmick:
“He said the aim of the program is not necessarily to see how many drunken drivers police can intercept. Rather, it is to send a message to motorists that Neenah is a risky place to drive drunk.”
If you thought that checkpoints already have a poor record for making drunk driving arrests, just wait until this silly program kicks off.
If Neenah police want to get serious about drunk driving, they should beef up roving patrols, not dream up fruitless PR stunts.
UPDATE: See today’s follow-up story that mentions this blog post.
