Citation

Seifarth J, Ferris J, Peek-Asa CL, Wiebe DJ, Branas CC, Gobaud A, Mehranbod C, Bushover B, Morrison CN. Spat. Spatiotemporal Epidemiol. 2023; 44: e100567.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.sste.2023.100567

PMID

36707194

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Sobriety checkpoints are a form of proactive policing in which law enforcement officers concentrate at a point on the roadway to systematically perform sobriety tests for all passing drivers. We investigated whether sobriety checkpoints unintentionally reduce assaults in surrounding areas.

METHODS: Exposures of interest were sobriety checkpoints conducted by the Los Angeles Police Department between 2012 and 2017. Comparison units were matched 1:2 to sobriety checkpoints, selected as the same point location temporally lagged by exactly ±168 hours. The outcome was the density of police-reported assaults around the checkpoint location.

RESULTS: In mixed effects regression analyses, assault incidence was lower when sobriety checkpoints were in operation compared to the same location ±168 hours [b= -0.0108, 95% CI: (-0.0203, -0.0012)].

CONCLUSIONS: Sobriety checkpoints were associated with decreased assault incidence, but estimated effect sizes were small and effects did not endure long after checkpoints ended.

Language: en

Keywords

Policing; Assault; Checkpoint; Proactive; Sobriety