Drunk Drivers to Get the Rush

Suspected drunk drivers stopped at a police roadblock in the San Fernando Valley on Friday will be processed on the spot and released to the custody of friends and relatives instead of being taken to jail, Los Angeles police said.

It is hoped that the experiment will speed drunk-driving arrests. It will allow the police to handle up to 200 suspects a night and cut processing time from two hours to 20 minutes each, Cmdr. Jim Jones said. About 30 officers will take part in Friday’s operation at an undisclosed Valley location.

Those arrested on suspicion of drunk driving will be booked and fingerprinted on the spot, said Capt. Mark Stevens, who will supervise the roadblock. Police officers will administer breath tests and set up portable bathrooms to take urine samples, Stevens said. Sgt. Dennis Zine said anyone who demands a blood test will be taken to the nearest hospital. Charges, if any, will be filed later by the city attorney’s office.

All but those with outstanding felony or misdemeanor warrants will be allowed to call friends for rides home, Stevens said. Several buses will hold suspects who are to be taken to jail.

Jones said the program, known as the Immediate Booking and Release System, will enable the police to arrest a larger number of drunk drivers in a more efficient manner. The roadblock will be in effect between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m.

At sobriety checkpoints on Dec. 29 and Dec. 31, the police found they spent most of their time processing suspects and transporting them to jail, Stevens said. “It was a cumbersome program,” he said. “It didn’t allow us to be as effective as we would have liked.”

Five drunk-driving suspects were arrested at the first roadblock, on Sepulveda Boulevard in Van Nuys. Thirty were arrested at the second, on Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood.

As with previous roadblocks, Friday’s location was chosen by police because of its high incidence of drunk-driving and traffic accidents.

Police hope to eventually apply the one-stop drunk-driver processing throughout the county.

They have received a $1.8-million grant to help implement the program, Jones said.