San Diego Sheriff's Dept. Awarded DUI Reduction Grant

SAN DIEGO COUNTY -- The Sheriff's Department is getting a big boost in its ongoing goal to keep impaired drivers off the roadways.

The California Office of Traffic Safety has awarded the San Diego County Sheriff's Department a $250,000 grant that's expected to fund a year's worth of special operations and campaigns designed to stop drivers under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

DUI checkpoints, patrols and distracted driving/traffic enforcement will all be funded by the grant. The goal is to reduce DUI-related crashes and deaths in San Diego County.

"This important grant will provide our deputies with additional resources to help them keep our streets safe from impaired drivers," Sheriff Bill Gore said in a statement.

So far in 2016, nearly 1,200 people have been arrested for DUI by Sheriff's Deputies. In 2015, deputies arrested 1,521 people for drunk driving, according to data.

Funding for the program is from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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