When a court talks of sobriety checkpoints part of the discussion is the efficiency of the checkpoint, main in terms of the arrest rate. Generally, sobriety checkpoints with a .1% arrest rate are held to be efficient enough in removing drunk drivers from the road to help pass a constitutional challenge.

The last checkpoint in the [Anne Arundel] county, conducted July 22, yielded four DUI arrests and one drug arrest after officers stopped 651 vehicles.

The last checkpoint in the [Annapolis] city on Aug. 26, yielded six arrests after officers stopped 335 vehicles.

Other checkpoints haven't been so successful. After stopping about 1,000 cars Aug. 18, city police made no arrests.

While the arrest rate is one way to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of a checkpoint, there are also other concerns.

To properly man a checkpoint, roughly 20 uniformed officers are needed. The officers are given a strict set of regulations that are to be followed, providing fertile ground for a defense attorney to pick through for mistakes that may cause a judge to dismiss the case.

While sobriety checkpoints are effcient enough to pass a constitutional test, with the relatively low amount of arrests, the large amount of man power and resources needed, and the strict regulations that need to be followed, how efficient are the checkpoints overall?

HometownAnnapolis.com, Top Stories - Police DUI checkpoint announcements questioned [online] (2005). (September 16, 2005).