Community Corner
Citations, Not DUIs, the Issue at Checkpoint
Berlin police have started their checkpoints for the holiday season – and more are on the way as they look to prevent tragedy over the holidays.
A weekend checkpoint conducted by the Berlin Police Department returned no DUI arrests, but officers are continuing to see numerous issues with motorists.
The Friday evening checkpoint, conducted on the Berlin Turnpike in the area of Deming Road, led police to issue 14 citations and led to 11 cars being towed away as officers flagged motorists for various violations.
Deputy Chief John Klett said while one person was stopped for suspicion of DUI, however, they passed the field sobriety test and no arrests were made.
The following citations were issued following the stops, which involved checks of 745 vehicles over a six-hour period:
- Two (2) motorists were cited for suspended registrations for operating motor vehicles without insurance.
- Nine (9) motorists were cited for operating unregistered motor vehicles.
- One (1) motorist was cited for failure to secure a child in a rear seat restraint system.
- One (1) motorist was cited for operating a vehicle without a license.
- One (1) motorist was cited for a graduated license violation for passenger restriction.
This DUI enforcement is funded by a grant from the Connecticut Department of Transportation's Highway Safety Division to support increased DUI detection and enforcement efforts. This enforcement program runs from November 2013 through September 2014. This grant provides 75-percent reimbursement of the overtime costs related to these efforts.
The grant helps to provide funding to staff additional DUI patrols as well as roadside sobriety checkpoints. Roadside sobriety checkpoints have been shown to be the most effective method to detect and apprehend under the influence drivers.
Additional checkpoints will be held in town on Nov. 22 and again on Nov. 27.
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