DUI checkpoints prove profitable for cities

“Sobriety checkpoints in California are increasingly turning into profitable operations for local police departments that are far more likely to seize cars from unlicensed motorists than catch drunken drivers,” according to a report by the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley and California Watch.  It is estimated that in 2009 such checkpoints generated $40 million in towing fees and police fines.  The California Office of Traffic Safety also funded approximately $30 million in overtime pay for the officers working the sobriety checkpoints.