The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office, as well as all law enforcement agencies within San Bernardino County, are committed to keeping our roadways safe from drivers who are under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
In an effort to protect and save lives in San Bernardino County, the district attorney’s office has received a $296,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) for a special team to prosecute alcohol and drug-impaired driving cases.
“This grant greatly helps our office in prosecuting individuals who place other people’s lives in jeopardy by choosing to drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Ultimately, our goal is to eventually eradicate this crime from our county through education and prosecution. It is always heartbreaking when anyone is killed in this preventable crime, which affects everyone in our community,” said District Attorney Jason Anderson.
“If you drink or use drugs and decide to drive, you put lives at risk,” OTS Director Barbara Rooney said. “This funding from the OTS makes sure that those who make the choice to drive under the influence are held accountable for their actions.”
In addition to forming a special prosecution team, funding will be used to:
- Develop protocols for handling cases through every step of the criminal process.
- Provide training for prosecutors and investigators through California’s Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor Program.
- Host quarterly regional meetings with law enforcement partners to improve DUI investigations and prosecutions.
This is the 8th year our office has received funding from the OTS for a DUI prosecution program. Last year, the prosecution team filed 6055 alcohol-only DUI cases, 19 drug-only cases, and 767 combination (alcohol and drug) cases. Sadly, there were 30 vehicular manslaughter cases involving DUI’s filed during the same time period.
The grant program runs from Oct. 1, 2020 to Sept. 30, 2021.
Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.