The Tucson Police Department received over $200,000 to help enhance DUI enforcement efforts in the city.
On Friday, the department announced it accepted a $91,277 grant from the Governor’s Officer of Highway Safety and a $140,000 grant from the Oversight Council on Driving or Operating Under the Influence Abatement.
The grants will help provide additional personnel support, employee related expenses and overtime expenses, a TPD news release said. The additional officers on the roads will participate in high-visibility DUI deployments and saturation patrols with an emphasis on holidays and weekend nights. TPD said the goal of the deployments and saturation patrols is to increase the awareness of motorists regarding the dangers of impaired driving, deter those who may be impaired from driving and investigate DUI offenses to reduce the number of impaired drivers, the news release said.
The grants will also assist members of the impaired driver enforcement unit in helping educate members in the department with a mentorship program where officers will ride with members of the unit to become more proficient in investigating impaired drivers, the news release said.
In addition, the grant will provide six moving radar units for the impaired driver enforcement unit and 10 alco-sensor portable breath instruments, the news release said.
Through the funding, TPD will join other law enforcement agencies as part of the Southern Arizona DUI task force for the remainder of 2022.
Watch now: City council votes on raises for Tucson Police Department personnel and other city employees. Video courtesy of city of Tucson.
