Checkpoints, roving DUI patrols and undercover details at stores that sell alcoholic beverages are in the works in Berks County for the rest of June, a time when high school graduation parties are typically held, officials announced.
The enhanced enforcement follows a month in which local police took about two dozen impaired drivers off the roads in Berks on a single night in sobriety checkpoints, officials said.
While police congratulate the 2025 graduates and encourage them to celebrate with friends and family, they remind them of the zero-tolerance policy for underage drinkers under Pennsylvania law.
The checkpoints and DUI patrols are being conducted with the North Central Regional DUI Enforcement Program, which equips, funds and coordinates the municipal police DUI enforcement in Berks, Schuylkill and 12 other counties. The program is funded through grants from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Adults also face arrest if they are caught serving alcohol to a person under the age of 21. That’s in addition to their liability for hosting a party in which alcohol is available to minors.
Police may also be posing as store employees to catch those buying alcohol for minors, a program known as “Cops in Shops.”
While the latest waves of enforcement have focused on drinking activities surrounding proms and graduation events, anyone who drives while impaired risks arrest.
Three checkpoints were conducted the same night in mid-May, one in Cumru Township and two others hosted jointly by the Eastern Berks Regional and Exeter Township police departments. Combined, police made 25 DUI arrests.
In just two hours on Route 100 in Colebrookdale Township, officers arrested seven drivers for suspected DUI. Later that night, officers moved the checkpoint to Route 422 in Exeter where they made five more arrests.
“Everyone was surprised by the number of encounters with impaired drivers,” Eastern Berks Police Chief Barry Leatherman said. “It tells us a lot about the amount of impaired driving out there.”
While catching impaired drivers is the goal of checkpoints, locations of which are determined by data on DUI-related crashes, police would rather make no arrests, which would indicate a scarcity of impaired drivers, Leatherman said.
“The reality is if people are breaking the law by doing this (driving after consuming alcohol or using controlled substances) they need to be caught because they’re endangering the lives of everyone on the road,” he said.
Young people need to think about potential deadly consequences of impaired driving, Leatherman said.
“The thought of getting arrested or losing your license really pales in comparison to the human toll,” he said.