Phoenix ā The Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZDPS) was awarded an $80K grant on August 12, 2019, by the DUI Abatement Council, which is administered by the Governorās Office of Highway Safety. The funding will be allocated by the Departmentās Highway Patrol Division through December 31, 2019, for overtime staffing and employee related expenses during an aggressive DUI enforcement campaign throughout the state.
The funding is a force multiplier, and it affords the department the capability of deploying troopers into areas that statistically, experience higher alcohol related injury and fatal crashes. Collision investigations, disabled motorists, debris, criminal violations, court proceedings and other administrative assignments typically reduce the amount of proactive patrol time a regular duty trooper can conduct; this grant will increase the proactive patrol time for troopers.
āDUI related highway crash statistics will dictate when and where we will implement trooper overtime staffing in order to ensure grant dollars are as impactful as possible in reducing impaired drivers on Arizonaās roadways,ā said Lt. Colonel Jenna Mitchell, Assistant Director, Highway Patrol Division.