Police officers on traffic patrol constantly watch for signs of drunk driving. They may arrest anyone who fails a chemical test after a collision or demonstrates poor ability on the road. One-on-one enforcement is effective but limited.
Sobriety checkpoints have become a common law enforcement tool. Police officers can screen numerous people for signs of driving while intoxicated (DWI) offenses in a short amount of time. It is quite common for officers to conduct checkpoints on relatively busy roads and on days when the number of impaired motorists may be higher, such as near the holidays. Ultimately, some people arrested at sobriety checkpoints or DWI roadblocks may not have broken the law and could face unfair charges regardless.
What factors might lead to police officers arresting the wrong people at DWI checkpoints?
Confirmation bias
Police officers conducting a DWI roadblock are there for one reason. They want to catch as many drunk drivers as they can. The pressure to justify the checkpoint with a high number of arrests may lead to officers seeing signs of impairment when there are other perfectly reasonable explanations for someone’s behavior. Confirmation bias occurs when people ignore reasonable explanations or some of the evidence available because they want to support a belief they already hold. Police officers looking for drunk drivers may see signs of impairment in people who are not over the legal limit.
Test calibration issues
Performing numerous chemical tests in a checkpoint scenario could lead to multiple unnecessary arrests. If police officers do not properly maintain and calibrate breath test units, the test results they produce may not be reliable and accurate. People who only had one drink could fail a test due to improper maintenance or a lack of recent device calibration. Some people can build a defense strategy by reviewing the maintenance records for a specific testing device.
Pressure caused by traffic
Police officers who feel rushed during interactions with the public might jump to the wrong conclusions. In a roadblock or checkpoint scenario, there could be dozens of vehicles waiting to pass through the checkpoint. Officers have to briefly interact with each of the waiting drivers. They might wrongfully arrest people because they feel like they must rush through interactions and would rather err on the side of caution by taking anyone who might be under the influence into state custody.
Drivers wrongfully arrested at DWI checkpoints may need to develop a defense strategy in a different way than those rightfully arrested after a crash or during a one-on-one traffic stop. Learning more about the rules that regulate checkpoints and DWI charges can help those who want to fight pending drunk driving allegations.