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First it was the DUI checkpoints, now plainclothed officers will be counting how many drinks you’ve had.

According to a Portsmouth Herald article by Elizabeth Dinan, police plan to visit “every bar in the city,” checking to see if local bartenders are over serving us drunks. If servers bring that last call shot to an already intoxicated patron, the penalty for a first offense is a $500 fine and a three-day loss of liquor license for the host establishment.
“I hope that, during our next sobriety checkpoint, we don’t have any arrests because the word got out that we’re cracking down,” said Portsmouth Police Lt. Fred Hoysradt. Police started the program last Friday, but turned up nothing.

To say the least, I find this new approach problematic.

Is this right? Will this even work? Should I have to worry about undercover cops monitoring how much I drink if a bartender serves me too much. Is it really the bartender’s responsibility if I choose to get completely wasted? Having held court on both sides of the bar, I know its not right to keep shoveling drinks to the guy who’s hunched over snoring or can barely talk, but what about the guy who’s had nine beers and seems fine. Is that over serving? Does the average person even know where the line is?

To expect bartenders to be holier-than-thou teetotalers is ridiculous. Servers are encouraged to sell drinks by their bosses and when they sell more, they make more. If they don't get what they want, patrons will just walk out the door and head to a bar that won’t shut them off.

I have to admit, the police are on the right track here but they haven’t gone far enough. The reason why there are so many DUIs in Portsmouth has a lot to do with bars over serving, but it also has to do with the number of people who drive into this city. Without public transportation or a push to get people to walk, I expect DUIs will continue.

So buyer beware when it comes to going out the next few weekends. Your reckless need to wasted could land your favorite drinking hole in trouble. While you won’t get arrested or pay a fine, your favorite bartender might think you’re a jerk. Try to sleep with that over your head, you lush.