Petaluma Police have already implemented some of bill's policies

A bill passed by the state Assembly last month could have wide-reaching implications for sobriety checkpoints, but the Petaluma Police Department already has implemented many of the bill's policies.

"Most of what the bill requires is what we're doing already," said Capt. Dave Sears. "We'll enforce whatever rules are created, as long as we get clarification."

The bill, written by Assemblymember Michael Allen, D-Santa Rosa, is designed to establish consistent statewide policies for sobriety checkpoints, as well as limit the severity and eradicate the alleged inequity of some current practices. It was passed by the Assembly on May 27, and now will be considered by the Senate.

Central to the bill is the stipulation that vehicles of unlicensed drivers cannot not be impounded if they can be safely parked or removed by a licensed driver. The impoundment issue has been of great concern to many of Latino's families, in particular, who have felt helpless after vehicles have been impounded from family members who are not legally allowed to obtain driver's licenses.

"This is consistent with the approach discussed by our county sheriff (Steve Freitas) and police chief (Dan Fish)," Sears said.

During the past couple of years, Petaluma police officers have been using more discretion in situations involving unlicensed drivers, and this contributed to a decrease in the number of vehicles impounded from 657 in 2009 to 515 in 2010.

The bill stipulates that a neutral formula be established for inspecting people at checkpoints.

"This would help to avoid stereotyping by not allowing particular types of drivers to be singled out," Sears said.

The legislation also would require that the checkpoints and their general locations be announced to the public 48 hours in advance. The Petaluma Police Department has been announcing that checkpoints will take place in the city, but hasn't revealed their general locations.

"We notify the public about checkpoints, but don't reveal the exact locations because drivers might then try to circumvent them," Sears said.

The bill also would require checkpoints to be set up in areas where there has been a high number of drunken driving arrests or alcohol-related crashes.

"We use physical data to determine where the highest propensity of DUI cases are," Sears said.

Sears said that the Petaluma Police Department also is in compliance with two other principal aspects of the proposed legislation: that checkpoints be conducted after dusk or at another time that is beneficial to deterring drunken drivers, and that proper lights and warning signs be used to identify checkpoints.

Contact Dan Johnson at dan.johnson@arguscourier.com)

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.