Modesto area police agencies readily say that drunken drivers aren't their only targets when they set up DUI checkpoints.
They're also aiming to curb unlicensed drivers, who police say are safety threats for others.
That's why so many vehicles are towed at driving-under-the-influence checkpoints compared with the number of arrests they achieve, officers say.
Ceres police Sgt. Danny Vierra said a lot of drivers leave the scene of a crash, which is a felony, because they don't have a license or insurance.
"We definitely believe hit-and-run accidents have a correlation with unlicensed drivers," said Vierra, who coordinates the department's checkpoints. "I think (the checkpoints) are a good way to attack both problems."
Vierra and other local officials are responding to a recent California Watch investigation that found police agencies statewide are raking in millions of dollars in towing fees while officers earn overtime to staff checkpoints that record few DUI arrests.
California Watch, a nonprofit investigative news outlet, found that cities with higher populations of Latino residents tended to have greater numbers of cars towed at checkpoints, a correlation that officials attributed to the likelihood that some of those cars belong to illegal immigrants.
For example, in Modesto where the population is 34 percent Latino, officers towed eight vehicles for every DUI arrest during four checkpoints in fiscal year 2008-09.
In Ceres, where the population is 50 percent Latino, officers towed about 20 vehicles for every DUI arrest during two checkpoints, according to the data collected by California Watch.
Its three-month analysis, however, did not find evidence that police departments set up checkpoints to target Latino drivers.
Local police agencies said they choose checkpoint locations based on how many DUI-related crashes and arrests occur in that area, along with the amount of traffic on a given street. The agencies rotate the locations for the checkpoints.
The California Watch study also found tow-aways from checkpoints in 2009 statewide generated an estimated $40 million in towing fees and police fines, revenue that cities divide with towing firms.
Modesto police Lt. Scott Blom said towing vehicles is not an effort to generate money. He said officers can't let an unlicensed driver leave in the vehicle, because the department would be responsible.
"We can't just say 'never mind, here are the keys,' " said Blom, who supervises the department's traffic unit. "When they go down the street and get in a wreck, it's our fault."
One in every 10 drivers screened at Riverbank checkpoints doesn't have a valid license, said Stanislaus County sheriff's Sgt. Vince Kimbrough, whose duties include overseeing traffic enforcement in Riverbank.
At a Riverbank checkpoint this month, Kimbrough said officers encountered a woman driving with a suspended license because of a DUI conviction. Her license had been suspended twice before for two other DUI convictions.
"And she's still driving a vehicle with no insurance, because she can't get insurance without a license," Kimbrough said. "We're not about towing away vehicles. It's about correcting bad driving behavior."
California Watch analyzed data documenting the results from every checkpoint that received state funding the past two years.
Ceres, Modesto, Riverbank and Ripon police departments were listed in that data. Ripon police officials were not available to comment for this report.
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