Students react to checkpoint
By Dominic Desmond, news editor      
Posted on November 30, 2006

Senior Veronica Peters watched the sobriety checkpoint on Neff Avenue from outside her Stone Gate apartment Nov. 16 for almost an hour.

“They were pulling over everyone,” Peters said. “It was entertaining. There was a whole bunch of police.”

Harrisonburg Police Department spokesperson Lt. Kurt Boshart said there were between 15 and 20 HPD officers, Rockingham County Sheriff’s Department, the Virginia Department of Alcohol Beverage Control and the Department of Probation and Parole. The joint task force effort resulted in 49 charges, including two DUI arrests and 11 underage possession of alcohol charges.

Boshart said checkpoints are set up during peak driving times — like holidays — and that it was no coincidence the checkpoint was set up before JMU had Thanksgiving Break.

Peters, a criminal justice minor, said checkpoints in general are generally a good idea, especially on Neff Avenue.

“Most of the people driving on Neff are under the influence during those times,” she said. “People would be driving back from The Pub or [Rocktown Grill].”

 Boshart and Peters said they don’t see any concerns over civil liberties being breached with such sobriety checkpoints. They both said the U.S. Supreme Court has set guidelines for conducting checkpoints legitimately.

Peters said, however, if police would take advantage of people not knowing their rights, then that could possibly be a civil liberty violation.

“Even if they stop one person to make them think twice,” Peters said, “a life may have been saved.”
Boshart agrees.

“Absolutely,” he said. “If it were one DUI arrest, it would be enough.”

He also said there is a deterrence effect involved with checkpoints.

“These checkpoints produce a lot of good for the community,” he said. “That’s what we look into.”

Joseph Rudmin, a JMU lab operations technician, has a problem with roadblocks.

“The issue is not the rules,” Rudmin said. “It’s about the abuse of police power.”

Rudmin also said the reliability in the technology of breathalyzers is questionable — false positives and false negatives do come up, he said.

While Peters was watching the roadblock, she said she heard people saying it was stupid.

“I think it’s important to keep drivers who are driving intoxicated off the street,” she said.

Peters said she was stopped at a checkpoint once. She was driving and a passenger of hers was 21, but Peters’ passenger didn’t have their ID.

“It’s kind of terrifying to be stopped and questioned,” she said. “It’s not a situation you’re going to find yourself in often.”