DWI Checkpoint in Shrewsbury This Weekend
There will be a driving while intoxicated (DWI) checkpoint in Shrewsbury, New Jersey this weekend. The checkpoint will be conducted by the Monmouth County DWI Task Force. The checkpoint will be held from 11 p.m. tonight until 3 a.m. tomorrow morning on Route 35 South. The Shrewsbury Police Department will pull drivers from the southbound lanes of Route 35 into the Shrewspury Plaza parking lot to conduct sobriety testing.
In New Jersey, courts have held that DWI roadblocks (also known as sobriety checkpoints) are valid if certain procedures are followed. The location of the checkpoint must be appropriate based on historical arrests at that location (i.e. this is an area where the police have found significant drinking and driving). Next, public safety and awareness will be increased by the use of the checkpoint. This checkpoint also must be closely supervised and notice of the checkpoint must be published in advance. In this case, police placed an article in the Asbury Park Press advising residents of the checkpoint. As a result, when these procedures are followed the roadblock is constitutional and is considered valid as a traffic stop for DWI charges.
