Locals Snared in Pacific Beach DUI Checkpoint Charge Entrapment

"What the hell else are we supposed to do in PB?"

As the Reader's Dave Rice reports, last weekend's DUI checkpoints on Ingraham and Grand yielded 51 arrests - well above the usual numbers for San Diego checkpoints. Both authorities and those arrested point to the placement of the checkpoints as the cause of the spike, but after that, the agreement stops.

"We're in a recession," said SDPD spokesman Buzz MacPherson. "Tax revenues are down all over the place. The department's budget has been cut to the bone. We have to deploy our resources in the most efficient manner possible. There isn't much sense in setting up a checkpoint in an area that isn't likely to lead to many arrests. It's like any other area of police work - you go where the problem is."

"We're in a recession," said recent DUI-arrestee Buzz Jackson. "Incomes are down all over the place. My discretionary spending budget has been cut to the bone. I need to party down in the most efficient manner possible. There isn't much sense in getting my drink on in an area without a high concentration of clubs and hotties. It's like any other area of life - you go where the action is."

"We're in a recession," said Lane Mars, General Manager at Pacific Beach's Riptide Bar & Grill. "Restaurant and tavern revenues are down all over the place. My staff has been cut to the bone. I need to get people to loosen their purse strings in the most efficient manner possible. There isn't much sense in serving one or two drinks to a customer who then leaves without even ordering one of our patented 'stomach liner' pizzas. It's like any other area of business - you work your customer."