Police
Get Grant to Fight DUI |
By Lookout Staff
November 13 – Drunk drivers beware. The Santa Monica
Police Department has some extra cash to help reduce crashes caused
by DUI drivers.
The $59,500 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (O.T.S.) ia
earmarked to help reduce the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol
involved crashes in Santa Monica.
Funding for the program was provided by O.T.S. through the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (N.H.T.S.A.).
The grant will be used to operate a one-year DUI Enforcement and Awareness
Program, police department officials said.
“With the cooperation of the California Office of Traffic Safety we
are able to put additional resources on this very serious problem,” said
Captain Al Venegas.
The grant will fund checkpoints and saturation patrols for DUI enforcement,
a “hot sheet” program to identify repeat DUI offenders and standardized
field sobriety training for Santa Monica Police Officers, officials said.
The grant will also be used to purchase supplies for the sobriety checkpoints
and educational materials that inform the public on traffic safety, officials
said.
“Impaired driving is a serious crime that kills and injures thousands
every year in California," said Christopher J. Murphy, director of the
Office of Traffic Safety.
“This grant will help get drunk drivers off the roadways of Santa Monica,
making it safer for everyone,” Murphy said.
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