The Santa Barbara Police Department announced on Thursday that a year-long drunk driving prevention program will be funded by a $129,851 grant to the City of Santa Barbara from the Office of Traffic Safety. Specifically, the money allows the police to perform anti-DUI activities, such as the kind of DUI checkpoints common during the holiday season, but also more focused actions. For example, officers may now be better able to perform “court stings,” in which they arrest people who immediately get behind the wheel after leaving a court function at which their driving privileges have been revoked. Another activity the money could support, according to a Thursday press release, would be stakeouts at spots where drunk driving is especially common. Finally, the money will also fund campaigns to educate the public on the dangers of drunk driving. “Impaired driving is a serious crime that kills and injures thousands every year in California,” said Christopher J. Murphy, director of the California Office of Traffic Safety. “This grant will help get drunk drivers off the roadways of Santa Barbara making it safer for everyone.”

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