Coachella DUI Checkpoints

There were growing concerns that Coachella police officers were holding too many DUI checkpoints in the same places. Going forward, to comply with DUI laws, Coachella police authorities have agreed to broaden the range of DUI locations. The concern stems from several Coachella restaurants and bars complaining that DUI checkpoints are held too frequently in their areas, and these restaurants and bars believe they may be losing business because of it. Research showed that in the past 12 months officers have conducted 12 DUI checkpoints in the Coachella area, by far the most in all of Coachella Valley.

In the past DUI checkpoints have been focused near Grapefruit Blvd, a stretch near downtown that has several restaurants and storefronts. Going forward the checkpoints “will be moved with regularity,” according to Lt. Misty Reynolds, the assistant police chief at the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. Coachella police officers were recently awarded $100,000 from the California Office of Traffic Safety. This grant will benefit several different programs in the Coachella area, and it will allow Coachella authorities to host a number of additional checkpoints in the coming year.

Lt. Reynolds also said that police will coordinate future DUI checkpoints with local restaurants to ensure they are spacing them out accordingly. It makes sense that they would want to space out the locations of these checkpoints so that they are less predictable. Research showed that in the past 12 months officers have conducted 12 DUI checkpoints in the Coachella area, by far the most in all of Coachella Valley. In Palm Springs they have conducted 9 DUI checkpoints, the second highest in the valley. Rancho Mirage and Indian Wells have each only conducted one.