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Comment by macinjosh | Hacker News Reader

Forgive me, but I am having a hard time following the logic/connection here. The connection you mention is that they are both misdemeanors. However, they are completely different crimes. As you mention the cops use checkpoints to catch drunk drivers. Checkpoints are efficient for the cops (though constitutionally questionable). Car burglaries can't be stopped by checkpoints and take more resources to investigate.

I'll also mention that drunk drivers caught at checkpoints are arrested for a victimless crime while every car burglary has a victim.

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DUI is as victimless as shooting a gun into a crowd and happening not to hit anyone. Just because you got lucky doesn't mean it's victimless.

I am not saying we shouldn't arrest drunk drivers. Drunk driving is bad. If someone drives while a tiny bit drunk and they make it home safely who exactly is the victim in that specific case?

Its a gray area and I think its best to be on the side of caution but lets at least be honest about it.

You missed the point. It takes resources to run a checkpoint for 6 hours. If you take the same number of cops and had them investigate property crime, it would make a huge difference.

It doesn't take much time to investigate property crime. They don't even both to take the video footage from the cars. Just ask on any Tesla forum where all the cars have a motion activated security cameras. They could spend 5 minutes to take the screen cap of the person and send it out to all the officer and community.

100% agree. Thanks for clarifying.

Drunk drivers kill people

Change thief’s cost a little money to insurance companies

Ideally both are stopped. But I would rather more drunk drivers are stopped over more change thieves.

> I'll also mention that drunk drivers caught at checkpoints are arrested for a victimless crime while every car burglary has a victim.

A victimless crime at the checkpoint, yes - but many people driving drunk end up in accidents and endanger public safety.

As for the real issue here: it's a problem only if there is not enough police to simultaneously conduct sobriety checkpoints and prevent crimes against property at the same time.

Fix police education, payment and staff and the problem is solved without pitting different dangers to society against each other. Or, even better, provide adequate public transport to allow people to have a drink without having to rely on driving drunk to get home...

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