Ricardo Favela
(760) 468-4519
ricardo@equalitysandiego.org



San Diego – A survey conducted this summer by the voter engagement group, the Equality Alliance of San Diego County, reveals that a clear majority of San Diego voters (64%) oppose checkpoints.

Conducted between May 21st and June 15th of this year, the survey (attached below) was part of a door-to-door and over-the-phone civic engagement project.  Over 6,000 voters from the Mid-City, Southeastern, and Mira Mesa neighborhoods of San Diego were asked the following question, “Do you think law enforcement should be able to set up checkpoints to question drivers without suspicion of wrongdoing.” No other information was provided so as to allow for voters to answer the question based on their own experiences and knowledge of checkpoints of any kind.

The survey, which is the only known survey on checkpoints in San Diego, also reveals the following…

• Opposition is widespread across all demographic groups
• Opposition is highest amongst 18-24 year-old (69%) African-American (68%), Latino (68%), and low-income (68%) voters.
• Less than a third (27%) of San Diego voters support checkpoints.

The Equality Alliance aims to bring the full results to the attention of Senator Kehoe, who chairs the Appropriations Committee, which will consider legislation regulating checkpoints on Monday, August 15th in Sacramento.

“We want Senator Kehoe to know that based on this survey and based on personal testimonies, San Diegans are fed up with the excessive use of checkpoints and how they are run,” says Andrea Guerrero, Executive Director of the Equality Alliance.

In video testimonials documented by the Equality Alliance, drivers like Daniel Adkins of San Diego explain why they oppose checkpoints, “I believe it infringes on my privacy rights as a driver.”

Retired San Diego police officer Carlos Ronquillo says, “checkpoints should only be used in the most limited circumstances and should be regulated to protect the rights of drivers.”

“Currently checkpoints are unregulated in California and we have the opportunity to fix that with pending legislation AB 1389 and AB 353,” states Guerrero.

The Equality Alliance, including the Executive Director Andrea Guerrero and several of the canvassers who conducted the survey will hold a press conference in front of Senator Kehoe’s office building to publicly announce the results of the survey on Wednesday morning at 10:30 am. Retired San Diego Police Officer Carlos Ronquillo will also be in attendance for the announcement.