Save Newport Real News in Newport Beach
Police revved up the PR battle against drinking over the weekend, sending four cops into bars armed with breathalyzers. The officers then proceeded to ask seventy-five patrons to take the test so that the police could catalog the data.
Of those asked, 34 refused, and 44 took the test.
Police contend that it is entirely voluntary, and that bars and restaurants must agree to allow them to enter, and patrons must agree to being breathalyzed. Any establishment owner knows that if there is one rule, it is this: Don’t p*** off the police. Therefore, this “voluntary” effort is anything but. And how many citizens feel comfortable telling police “No”? (Note: 34 of 75 is more than what I would have expected!)
“The Know Your Limits campaign is not intended to be an enforcement tool or a scare tactic,” said Sergeant Rachel Johnson in a prepared statement.
While there are some variables to consider, the basic rule of thumb widely known and re-iterated ad nauseam in every Drivers Safety class: “Two beers and you’re over half-way there” and “your body works off one beer per hour.” There is no public education needed on this matter– especially by wasting the time of our highly-paid police force. Besides, places like Rudy’s have had breathalyzers available as in-house machines for about 15 years now, and portable breathalyzers have become so inexpensive I am sure there are already frat drinking games revolving around measuring your BAC.
As police entered these establishments, they scanned the crowds for alcohol consumption measurements, and logged their information– including gender, age, and city of residence (coincidentally, these also are statistics used for calculating likely Newport voters). They then released a statement showing that most participants drinking were not from Newport Beach, and detailed where all the people were coming from– but failed to detail the exact thing that they were measuring: BAC.
While police did not release the full scope of BAC results, they said that there were some people who registered as a sobering 0.00% BAC, and the most inhibited person they could find was a 0.21% BAC. The police release offered absolutely no information as to whether or not any of these people were intending to drive, yet the operation– called “Know Your Limits”– is stated as a method of preventing drunk driving.
So, are DUIs a problem in Newport? Well, we do have one of the lowest DUI rates in history– and while even one is a problem, we simply don’t have unlimited funds to dump down the drain. Here is a prime example of overkill: Using YOUR taxpayer money, this campaign seeks to reduce drunk driving in a city where our last 3 DUI checkpoints (2/20/2015, 3/13/2015, and 5/29/2015) used three hundred and sixty man hours (with expenses at $200,000/year STARTING, that’s over $34,000) across 45 officers days, combined… to catch 1 “suspected” DUI driver, each day.
One.
Now, the police department is spending unknown amounts of taxpayer dollars in an effort to enter private establishments and breathalyze individuals who were on dates or otherwise minding their own business.
What do you think about this effort? Is this a friendly outreach effort designed to educate people, or do you think BAC is common knowledge by now, and this is simply a form of police intimidation?
