Politics & Government

D.A. Gets $480,000 Anti-DUI Grant

OC prosecutors will use the money for special training for law enforcement and enhancing the crime lab's forensic analysis in DUI drug cases.

The state has given a $480,000 grant to the Orange County district attorney's office for anti-DUI efforts, officials announced.

The money, which comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration through the California Office of Traffic Safety, will help provide 50 additional law enforcement officers with specialized training to detect and arrest impaired drivers. It will also go toward the county crime lab's enhancement of forensic analysis of DUI drug cases, the district attorney's office said.

It's the agency's third Office of Traffic Safety grant for such anti-DUI efforts. In 2005, the D.A. got a $691,631 grant to aid prosecution of DUI cases by allowing a deputy district attorney and clerical support staff to focus exclusively on such cases. Three years later, the D.A. created a Vehicular Homicide Team, made up of specialized prosecutors and investigators to prosecute vehicle-death cases.

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In 2011, the D.A. got a $640,000 grant to support a multi-agency effort against DUI drug cases, officials said. Of that, $350,000 went to the county crime lab for machinery to process DUI drug-related evidence. The D.A. partnered with the California Highway Patrol and Fullerton Police Department  to provide 92 officers from all Orange County law enforcement agencies with specialized training to improve their ability to detect and arrest drivers under the influence of drugs. The grant also allowed two deputy district attorneys to prosecute drug-related DUI cases part time.


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