Crime & Safety
Santa Cruz Police Department Awarded $75K Grant
The money will fund various activities intended to reduce roadway deaths and injuries.
October 16 2019
Santa Cruz Police Department Awarded
Traffic Education and Enforcement Grant from the OTS
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Santa Cruz, Calif. – Santa Cruz Police Department received a $75,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) for a one-year enforcement and education program. The money will fund various activities intended to reduce deaths and injuries on California roads.
“After receiving this grant in 2018-2019, our extra patrols resulted in a 31% increase in traffic citations, ten widely-publicized traffic safety awareness and enforcement campaigns, and five officers in the department attended California Traffic College. All of these measures have been proven to increase roadway safety" said Sergeant Scott Garner.
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The grant-related activities are for the 2020 federal fiscal year, which runs from Oct. 1, 2019 to Sept. 30, 2020.
The funding from the OTS will be used for numerous programs, including:- DUI checkpoints.
- Patrols specifically looking for suspected alcohol and/or drug-impaired drivers.
- Patrols targeting violations of California’s hands-free cell phone law and vehicle code violations by drivers, motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians that put other roadway users at risk.
- Patrols targeting the primary causes of crashes: Speeding, improper turns, running stop signs or signals, right-of-way violations and driving on the wrong side of the road.
- Patrols specifically looking for seat belt and child safety seat violations.
- Creating “Hot Sheets” identifying repeat DUI offenders.
- Officer training to identify suspected impaired drivers and conduct sobriety tests.
“Getting in a vehicle remains one of the most dangerous things we do,” OTS director Barbara Rooney said. “We must continue to work with our partners in law enforcement to shift that realization and make traveling on our roads safer.”
Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
This press release was produced by the Santa Cruz Police Department. The views expressed here are the author’s own.
