The Columbia Police Department and MU Police Department arrested seven drivers during a sobriety checkpoint Sept. 22.
As part of Missouri’s statewide campaign against impaired driving, “You Drink & Drive, You Lose,” CPD conducted a checkpoint from midnight to approximately 2:45 a.m. Sept. 22 on Broadway near West Boulevard.
Police stopped 152 cars, resulting in six arrests for driving while intoxicated, and one for distribution of imitation substances, according to a CPD news release.
CPD conducts the sobriety checkpoints as a deterrent for anyone thinking about driving home after a night of drinking.
“You want people to be finding other rides home,” CPD officer Lori Simpson said. “You want him to use a cab. We’re really looking for a deterrent.”
The police use education as well as checkpoints to try and curb the amount of drunk driving arrests.
“We also combine checkpoints with education,” Traffic Unit Supervisor Sgt. Curtis Perkins said. “We’ll go and talk to high schools and do certain college events, so we also do an education side and try and get the word out there. Between the education side and the enforcement side, I do think it makes a difference.”
The number of DWI arrests dropped from the previous checkpoint on Aug. 26, when police made 15 DWI arrests. Simpson said Columbia police officers like to see a high number of DWI arrests because arrests remove the unsafe drivers from the road, but a low number of arrests shows the checkpoints are working.
“We always like to see a big number, but if we have a low number, that’s a pretty good sign that people are getting rides home,” Simpson said.
The Missouri Division of Highway Safety funds these checkpoints with a grant, which pays for the DWI unit as well as overtime for the officers working at the checkpoints and equipment. The grant requires six checkpoints at various times throughout the year.
“Usually with the grant, you’re required to do so many checkpoints a year, and around certain times of the year,” Simpson said. “I’m not exactly sure when the next checkpoint is going to happen, but I’m sure it’ll be soon.”