Indio Police, Riverside County Sheriff’s Office receive state grants to combat impaired driving
Tommy Gallegos
INDIO, Calif. — The Indio Police Department and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office are among a select group of California law enforcement agencies receiving state funding to expand education efforts aimed at preventing impaired driving.
The grant is part of more than $41 million awarded by the California Highway Patrol to 183 state and local agencies through the state’s Cannabis Tax Fund Grant Program, which is funded by tax revenue generated under voter-approved Proposition 64.
Indio Police, along with Riverside County Public Health are two of just 12 agencies statewide selected to receive education grants. The organizations will use the funding to educate local communities about California’s impaired driving laws while highlighting the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
The education grants are designed to increase public awareness through outreach campaigns, community events and educational programs focused on preventing impaired driving before it occurs.
In addition to Indio Police, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office was also awarded funding through the Cannabis Tax Fund Grant Program. The Sheriff’s Office was among 160 law enforcement agencies statewide receiving enforcement grants, which support DUI enforcement operations, training for drug recognition evaluators, expanded efforts to identify drug-impaired drivers and public education campaigns.
Another 10 grants were awarded to toxicology crime laboratories to reduce forensic testing backlogs, improve laboratory capacity and purchase upgraded testing equipment. Los Angeles Medical Examiner also received a two-year grant to improve data collection related to impaired driving cases.
The CHP administers the Cannabis Tax Fund Grant Program using tax revenue from cannabis sales approved under Proposition 64.