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Saturation Patrols and Sobriety Checkpoints

NCJ Number
188422
Date Published
June 2000
Length
62 pages
Annotation
This guide describes operational procedures for law enforcement agencies that may help ensure that sobriety checkpoints are conducted legally, effectively, and safely.
Abstract
The guidelines covered the implementation of either a full-scale sobriety checkpoint or a scaled-back sobriety checkpoint for agencies with limited resources. Community support was presented as a key to conducting successful sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols. One section of the guidelines pertained to building partnerships with advocacy and health care groups, local businesses, schools, judges, prosecutors, and elected officials. These partners can help promote the message that the community stands behind efforts to rid the streets and highways of impaired drivers. A second section of the guide suggested how media support could help raise community awareness of the problem of impaired driving. Outreach strategies are proposed, and suggested media interview questions and answers are presented. Suggestions on timelines are provided in another section of the guide, with attention to planning checkpoints and patrols, promoting and publicizing the efforts, and conducting a town hall meeting. The concluding section listed and described various resources.