• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, April 8, 2013

Of all the institutions threatened, or at least disrupted, by the advent of social media, one that I never would have guessed (but should have, in retrospect) is the sobriety checkpoint. It turns out social media had made the job of law enforcement quite a bit more difficult when it comes to catching drunk drivers, because drivers can share the information on social media via their mobile phones (another driving no-no).

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that local police in Jefferson County, MO, have found that both the volume of traffic and the number of drunk-driving arrests have fallen since Facebook and Twitter made it possible for drivers to share the locations of sobriety checkpoints. In response, the police have changed their strategy, by mounting a larger number of smaller operations, which move around more frequently and target smaller roads where drivers don’t expect to find cops wielding breathalyzers. The police are also changing up their schedule, with more sobriety checkpoints during the week.

Still, it doesn’t take long for people to spread the word. The reporter from the Post-Dispatch witnessed the effects of social media when news of a checkpoint, set up at 9:30 p.m. in Jefferson County, was already being posted on Facebook and Twitter by 10 p.m. Not coincidentally, the number of cars moving through the checkpoint fell off around the same time, and the police quickly packed up and moved on to another spot.

Of course, as social media helps some drunk drivers evade arrest, it can also be used to shame those who get caught, as police stations across the country have begun posting mug shots of alleged criminals (including DUI/DWI cases) on Facebook and elsewhere.