III. Program Description

C. Sobriety Checkpoints

Sobriety checkpoints constituted the main focus of the enforcement effort. In total, the State funded 24 sobriety checkpoints during the July 4th holiday period.  Law enforcement agencies spent a majority of the $387,555 in grants for the 4th of July holiday period on equipment.  Fifteen towns throughout the State held at least one sobriety checkpoint during the July 4th holiday period.  Most of these sobriety checkpoints took place on the Friday and Saturday nights surrounding the holidays.  Under the expanded grants, 18 towns and the State Police conducted a total of 89 sobriety checkpoints.  Some of the sobriety checkpoints conducted under the expanded grants were conducted during the two holiday periods, but there is no information on exactly how many of them were held during the holiday enforcement periods.  Twenty-eight local law enforcement agencies and the State Police conducted a total of 51 sobriety checkpoints during the winter holiday period, more than twice as many as conducted during the July 4th holiday period. 

            Police in 10 Connecticut towns conducted sobriety checkpoints before and after the July 4th period and winter holiday periods as part of a research effort to directly measure the impact of the campaign crackdowns on drinking and driving on Connecticut roads.  An additional 10 sobriety checkpoints were conducted in 5 Connecticut towns, with one sobriety checkpoint occurring in each town before and after the crackdown.  Two Hartford County towns and three New London County towns participated.  In addition, before and after the winter holiday period, police conducted two sobriety checkpoints in eight Connecticut towns, three in Hartford County and five in New London County, and an additional four sobriety checkpoints in one Hartford County town.  These 30 additional sobriety checkpoints were not included in the 24 and 51 sobriety checkpoints counted by the State because they were also part of the evaluation of the enforcement component of the campaign.  The sobriety checkpoints included an evaluation research component after the normal portion of the sobriety checkpoint in which researchers collected direct observations of drinking and driving by obtaining blood alcohol concentration information from a random sample of drivers passing through the sobriety checkpoint.