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Citrus Heights police announce DUI checkpoint this weekend

Citrus Heights police hold a DUI checkpoint on Auburn Boulevard in 2015. // CH Sentinel

Sentinel staff report–
Another DUI and drivers license checkpoint will be conducted this weekend in Citrus Heights, police said in a news release and social media postings on Monday.

Authorities said the checkpoint will be held at “an undisclosed location” in the city between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m., beginning Saturday night, Aug. 25, and continuing through the early hours of the following day.

Q&A: Why do police announce DUI checkpoints in advance?

Past checkpoint operations typically include officers briefly stopping vehicles to look for signs of alcohol and drug impairment, as well as checking drivers for valid licensing. Police also warn that drug-impaired driving includes many prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications.

A prior checkpoint held last month on Auburn Boulevard near Twin Oaks Avenue resulted in one DUI arrest. Police reported that during the checkpoint a total of 540 vehicles were stopped and 17 citations were issued for various offenses, including driving without a license or with a suspended license. Police also impounded one vehicle and administered five sobriety field tests.

As previously reported on The Sentinel, the Citrus Heights Police Department says it announces DUI operations in advance as a public awareness tool to help deter drunk drivers from getting behind the wheel in the first place. The department also regularly deploys “DUI Saturation Patrols,” which specifically search for, and pull over, drivers showing signs of intoxication.

Funding for CHPD’s checkpoints comes from a California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) grant, through the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration. Last year, CHPD announced it had been awarded a $164,000 OTS grant to help fund a year-long program of safety-related efforts, with a focus on DUI checkpoints and saturation patrols.

August 23, 2018
11 arrested in Citrus Heights Memorial Day weekend DUI crackdown

A sign on Auburn Boulevard alerted drivers of a Saturday DUI Checkpoint during a Memorial Day weekend crackdown in Citrus Heights.

Citrus Heights police were busy over Memorial Day weekend, reporting a total of 11 arrests, 13 vehicle tows and 37 citations issued during a two-night “Avoid the 15” DUI crackdown operation — with officers as far as Elk Grove coming to the city to help in the effort.

Kicking off the weekend with a Friday-night “saturation patrol,” officers from Rancho Cordova, Elk Grove and Sacramento police departments assisted in a four-hour crackdown effort, with roving patrols pulling over 69 vehicles and administering 11 field sobriety tests, according to Sergeant Gutierrez with the Citrus Heights Police Department (CHPD). Police said the operation resulted in five DUI arrests and four arrests for “non-DUI related crimes,” as well as 29 citations being issued for various violations — with about half from driving unlicensed or with a suspended license.

Officers set up a multi-agency DUI Checkpoint the following night on Auburn Boulevard near Twin Oaks Avenue, with CHPD reporting a total of 871 vehicles passing through the checkpoint. Gutierrez said two arrests were made and eight citations were issued. More than twenty officers were observed taking part in the effort, coming from Rancho Cordova and Sacramento police departments, as well as officers from Los Rios and the Sacramento County Probation Department.

[Want to know why police advertise DUI checkpoints in advance? See story: CHPD wins $182k grant for more DUI checkpoints, safety enforcement]

The county-wide “Avoid” Task Force plans to organize checkpoints and DUI patrols again during Independence Day and Labor Day holidays, according to a press release from the Sacramento Police Department.

Law enforcement agencies receive funding for the task force by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

May 27, 2015
Weekend DUI Checkpoint nets 1 arrest, 6 tows

Updated Jan. 19, 10:10 a.m.–
About 700 cars were screened by Citrus Heights police during a Friday night DUI Checkpoint on Auburn Boulevard, resulting in 14 citations, 1 arrest and 6 vehicles being towed, according to police.

Citrus Heights police conduct a DUI Checkpoint operation, Friday night.

More than a dozen officers, including several sergeants and a lieutenant, were involved in the six-hour checkpoint operation, with officers briefly making contact with each driver passing through, and looking for signs of alcohol or drug impairment.

Officer Anthony Boehle said the Department conducts such operations six to eight times a year in an attempt to reduce DUI-related accidents, and receives funding assistance from a California Office of Traffic Safety grant.

<<See related story: “CHPD wins $182k grant for more DUI checkpoints, safety enforcement“>>

According to a press release by Sergeant Dave Gutierrez, research shows crashes involving a driver under the influence of drugs or alcohol “can be reduced by up to 20 percent, when well-publicized DUI checkpoints and proactive DUI patrols are conducted routinely.” The release also cited data from 2012 showing 802 deaths and almost 24,000 serious injuries in California could have been avoided by designating a sober driver.

“We really want people to take it serious,” said Officer Dave Jones, who was out checking ID’s and looking for signs of intoxication during Friday’s checkpoint. “Even just a simple mistake can cost someone their life.”

January 17, 2015