Sacramento Holiday DUI Numbers Are Down 29% from Last Year
The yearly holiday DUI crack down which draws thousands of federal dollars into the coffers of California politicians show that 29% fewer DUI arrests were made this season than last. The numbers for the 11/12 holiday season show that 118 persons were arrested for suspected DUI. Last year, there were 166 arrests made. Funding for these initiatives provides new police cars and overtime pay for officers. The money comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Many Sacramento DUI lawyers are concerned about the use of programs that require police officers to make particular numbers to defend the grants. Requiring officers to make a certain number of arrests smacks of quota systems which are illegal and breed corruption.
There are many other problems with these programs on top of the question of quotas. Sobriety checkpoints provide officers with a means to circumvent constitutional search and seizure laws by not requiring them to have a reason to stop the cars.