DUI Checkpoints Produce Meager Results in Lake County

By AMIE SCHAENZER (Patch Staff)

Communities throughout the state will conduct special enforcements and set up DUI checkpoints over the Memorial Day weekend with the hopes of deterring inebriated drivers from hitting the roadways.

And while the intent of these programs are meant to protect communities, a Chicago Tribune investigation found these programs, and specifically, the controversial DUI checkpoints, produce very meager results.

In particular, agencies in Lake County “staged hundreds of checkpoints, spent millions and have caught…almost no one,” according to the article.

Waukegan police, for example, received $478,000 in state funding and handed out 890 DUIs, which was only 12 percent of the total citations made at the checkpoints, the Chicago Tribune reports.

The Chicago Tribune investigation looked at reports for special DUI patrols and roadside checkpoints between 2008 and 2013. The investigation revealed the following information regarding checkpoints in Lake County:

• Grayslake/Hainesville: Spent $37,367 for 36 DUIs, which was only 7 percent of the 501 tickets issued.
• Lake County Sheriff’s Department: Spent $7,044 for 7 DUI arrests, which was 6 percent of 123 total citations.
• Gurnee: Spent $56,000 for 42 DUI arrests, which was 4 percent of the 935 citations issued.

You can read more on the Chicago Tribune

You can also see how much grant money was issued and how many DUI arrests were made in your town in the Chicago Tribune’s searchable database.