Sobriety checkpoints throughout the commonwealth were ruled constitutional this week by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in a 4-3 vote.

The ruling permits local police to continue their efforts against people who drive under the influence.

Detective John Conti, Coordinator for the Centre County Alcohol Task Force & the Sobriety Checkpoint Program, said that the program will assist Centre County police in keeping drunk drivers off the road.

"Anyone who drives on our highways should be elated by this," Conti said.

The decision was long-awaited and well-received by law enforcement throughout Centre County, including District Attorney Ray Gricar, who said he was "pleasantly surprised" by the ruling.

Gricar said the liberal reputation of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court led him to believe that the ruling could have been against the sobriety checkpoint establishment.

Gricar said the constitutionality of sobriety checkpoints was in question because of potential lack in probable cause.

In the state of Pennsylvania, police need probable cause before stopping a vehicle. Probable cause is a proof or fact that would lead a reasonable person to believe both a crime was committed and a person or premise has evidence of that crime.

"They (the checkpoints) allow vehicles to be stopped without a probable cause," Gricar said.

The Centre County Alcohol Task Force involved in enforcing the checks is comprised of volunteer police officers from State College, Bellefonte, Ferguson Township, Patton Township, Spring Township and the Centre County Sheriff's Office.

During the field sobriety tests, drivers encounter a variety of different tests to find out if the person is suitable to drive. If the person fails the test, the officer in charge decides whether charges should be filed or whether another person in the vehicle can drive instead.

The checkpoints are labor-intensive, needing 20 to 25 officers at one point. However, Conti said that although the county is only running one at a time, an October grant from PennDOT permits future plans to include having more of them at one time.

"We want to give the illusion that we're everywhere, so we may have more of them or take down the checkpoints we have and set them up in different places," Conti said.

Although the checkpoints need substantial financing as well as officers willing to volunteer, Conti said having the checkpoints could mean the difference between saving a life and losing one.

"The number of DUIs have been decreasing over the years. A few years ago we would encounter six to eight DUIs a night on average . . . the average last year was four to five," Conti said.

Sgt. John Wilson, community relations director for State College police, said he was afraid the court would rule the checks unlawful, but he is thankful that Pennsylvania law enforcement is permitted to use one more tool toward DUI prevention.

"I've personally been involved in a lot of checkpoints. We've encountered hundreds and thousands of people (who are driving while intoxicated) through that," Wilson said.

Centre County not only uses sobriety checkpoints to cut down on people getting behind the wheel while intoxicated, but also has a program called Cops in Shops that places undercover officers near or working inside establishments that sell alcohol.