MORE ON: checkpoint

At a sobriety checkpoint in December 2009, the Los Angeles Police Department impounded 64 cars from unlicensed drivers while making just four drunken driving arrests. That disparity has been common for years at such operations all over California, which are intended to catch or deter... + read more

For one night last week, the entire state budget became tangled in the complex legal and political issues surrounding sobriety checkpoints – and the financial strain they put on California's unlicensed drivers. During final budget negotiations Thursday, state Sen. Gilbert... + read more

Only one city in California conducts checkpoints solely to catch unlicensed drivers. And now even Escondido, a city of 130,000 north of San Diego, has announced it will no longer conduct the controversial roadway operations, which critics called discriminatory against Hispanics. But that... + read more

Local governments received grants for drunken driving enforcement, which pay police officer overtime at sobriety checkpoints. The funds come from money the U.S. Department of Transportation provides to the state for roadway safety. The grants detailed below pay for checkpoints year-round. You can... + read more

Reporter Ryan Gabrielson explains explains the process of getting to the truth of sobriety checkpoints. + read more

Sobriety checkpoints are generating tens of millions of dollars in revenue for California law enforcement agencies, cities and counties. Police are far more likely to impound vehicles from unlicensed drivers than arrest a driver for a DUI. The Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley has been... + read more