Last year, there were more than 400 victims of drug and alcohol related crashes in Sacramento County and many of these involved people who had felony and repeat offences for driving under the influence (DUI). With a new grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, the officers of the Probation Department will provide active and intense supervision of felony or repeat DUI offenders to reduce the number of people injured and killed in alcohol and drug related collisions throughout the county.
“Driving under the influence is a serious crime that can be deadly,” said Chief Probation Officer Lee Seale. “We are pleased to receive grant funding to target felony and repeat DUI offenders. Active supervision coupled with treatment is a strategy that has proven to work in preventing crimes from high-risk offenders like these.”
Probation’s goal is to focus on rehabilitation rather than prison time for offender’s actively participating in this program, by requiring them to be educated and trained in classes associated with a DUI.
Additionally, the Department will complete unannounced home visits and random drug or alcohol testing of offenders at risk for repeating a DUI. Probation will also partner with local law enforcement agencies to conduct checkpoint and warrant service operations that target individuals who failed to appear in court after a DUI arrest.
The $423,300 grant comes from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The grant was created to address the nearly 9,778 people who died nationally from highway crashes involving a driver or motorcycle operator with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher back in 2011.
