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Sheriff’s office receives grant for DUI prevention program 

Grant will fund new equipment, staffing Thieves crash stolen car, lead officers on foot chase in North County Read more here: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/crime/article108125412.html#storylink=cpy

–The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office has been awarded a $94,772 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) for a year-long program aimed at preventing deaths and injuries on our roadways through special enforcement and public awareness efforts. The grant received by San Luis Obispo County will aid in the city’s ongoing effort to improve traffic safety and quality of life. San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office will use the funding as part of an on-going commitment to keep our roadways safe through both enforcement and education.

The sheriff’s office chose to take on the responsibility of managing the operation of the Driving Under the Influence (DUI) program for the County of San Luis Obispo in 2014. The goal of the grant money is to reduce the number of people killed or injured in alcohol related traffic collisions in San Luis Obispo County. A new upgraded state of the art dual column gas chromatograph, with headspace auto-analyzer will be purchased for use in the Forensic Alcohol Laboratory.

The Sheriff’s Office Forensic Alcohol Laboratory (FAL), provides DUI blood sample testing to San Luis Obispo Police Department, Paso Robles Police Department, Atascadero Police Department, Morro Bay Police Department, Grover Beach Police Department, Pismo Beach Police Department, both Templeton and San Luis Obispo Highway Patrol divisions and State Parks and Recreation here in the county. Each of these agencies depends on the accuracy and reliability of the FAL to assist in reducing the number of deaths and injuries attributable to alcohol and drug involvement.

The grant will assist in efforts to deal with traffic safety problems and to reduce the number of persons killed and injured in traffic collisions. Alcohol-impaired driving fatalities increased from 28-percent in 2013 to 29-percent in 2014, as a percent of total fatalities. This number has remained virtually unchanged in the past four years. California is better than the national average of 31-percent.

Activities that the grant will fund include:
• Purchase a state of the art dual column GC with a headspace auto-analyzer.
• Purchase supplies necessary for the state qualification of the new GC.
• Provide a temporary increase in staffing during the grant period.
• Strengthen the accuracy and reliability of Blood Alcohol Concentration testing.

Funding for this program is from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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The news staff of the Paso Robles Daily News wrote or edited this story from local contributors and press releases. The news staff can be reached at info@pasoroblesdailynews.com.