Grant will help Long Beach police combat DUI deaths and injuries

US Official News

The Long Beach Police Department has been awarded a $112,800 DUI Checkpoint grant aimed at preventing deaths and injuries on our roadways. Funding is from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

"DUI checkpoints are effective because they specifically target impaired driving offenders, and they also educate the public on the dangers of driving under the influence," Mayor Bob Foster said.

The Long Beach Police Department is dedicated to keeping our streets safe through both enforcement and education. The DUI Checkpoint grant will assist the Police Department's ongoing efforts to reduce the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol and other drug-related accidents.

“The partnership that we have with OTS enables us to maximize the level of enforcement we provide, while raising the awareness of a serious issue that directly involves the safety of our residents,” stated Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell.

Drunk and drugged driving is among America’s deadliest crimes. In 2010, 791 people were killed and over 24,000 injured in alcohol and drug-impaired crashes in California. That same year, seven persons were killed and 139 persons were injured in these types of crashes in Long Beach.

Checkpoints have proven to be the most effective of DUI enforcement strategies, reducing alcohol-related crashes by an average of 20 percent and yielding considerable cost savings. “DUI checkpoints have been an essential part of the phenomenal reduction in DUI deaths that we witnessed from 2006 to 2010 in California,” said Christopher J. Murphy, Director of the Office of Traffic Safety. “But since the tragedy of DUI accounts for nearly one third of traffic fatalities, Long Beach needs the high visibility enforcement and public awareness that this grant will provide.”

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