Checking out a checkpoint
A close-up view of an effective crime-fighting technique in Simi Valley
By Darleen Principe darleen@theacorn.com

Police Chief Mike Lewis

Simi Valley police officers issued 25 citations for a variety of California Vehicle Code violations during the third sobriety and license checkpoint of the year on Saturday night.

The Simi department conducted the checkpoint between 9 p.m. and midnight on the westbound side of the 3000 block of Cochran Street near Galena, where police stopped a total of 388 motorists and asked them to show their driver's licenses.

"One of the biggest things we get out of this is that we educate the public about drinking and driving," said Lt. Joe May. "We actually get a lot of positive feedback."

Saturday night's checkpoint was the fourth and final one funded by a grant received from the California Office of Traffic Safety. According to Sgt. John Adamczyk, who organized the checkpoint, the grant supplies "well over $100,000" to fund a series of four separate checkpoints during a given fiscal year.

The grant allows Simi police to assign 630 hours of police coverage for all four checkpoints. On Saturday night, there were 22 police officers, two police service assistants and two police dispatchers working at the site. Employees from two local towing companies, Swinks Simi Valley Towing and Dave's Towing Service, were also on hand.

This is the first time the Simi Police Department received funding from OTS. Before the grant, funding for the checkpoints came from the department's annual budget.

May said the Simi department plans to apply for another grant in order to continue conducting the checkpoints, the time and location of which are not revealed to the public ahead of time.

Out of the 25 citations issued Saturday, 12 went to unlicensed drivers. Eight cars were stored or impounded, and no arrests were made for driving under the influence.

"If we don't catch anyone drunk driving, then I would say it's been a successful checkpoint," Adamczyk said.

Still, it doesn't mean drunk drivers aren't out there, he said. The California Vehicle Code requires police to set up the areas following specific guidelines, which may contribute to the lack of DUI arrests.

Police must post signs within a "reasonable distance" from the checkpoint so drivers have the option of taking a different route to avoid contact with officers. The location is determined by the availability of such an "escape route" as well as a secondary screening area in case a driver needs to be examined further, Adamczyk said.

"The checkpoints are always wellmarked," he said. "By coming this way (drivers) consent to being in contact with us."

For most motorists coming through the checkpoint, the process is rather quick. The driver is stopped by a police officer standing in the middle of the street near a temporary stop sign. The officer checks the driver's license, and if it appears valid the driver is free to go.

If the driver cannot provide a valid license, an officer will move the car into the adjacent secondary screening area, usually a business parking lot, to determine whether or not the driver will be cited. If the driver cannot provide proof that he or she is licensed, the car is towed away.

On Saturday night, police used the parking lot of the Farmer's Insurance building on Cochran Street as a secondary screening area.

"We don't traditionally get a lot of drunk drivers," May said. "We get a lot more unlicensed drivers."

Simi Police Chief Mike Lewis said the checkpoints are a form of "community enforcement" and a way of engaging the public in their own safety. "I think it's been a progression over the years," Lewis said. "It changes behaviors in the community through the voluntary cooperation of the citizens."

City Manager Mike Sedell was at the site to show the supportoftheCityCouncil."The important thing is that people are driving safely," Sedell said. "When I came through, I showed my license. I'm not above it."