District Attorney Awarded Office of Traffic Safety DUI Prosecution Grant
For the fifth straight year, District Attorney Tim Ward is pleased to announce the award of a California Office of Traffic Safety Grant to help prosecute cases of driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. The $175,000 grant will continue to fund a Vertical Prosecution team through September 2022, primarily for felony DUI with injury cases, as well as attorney training. The Vertical Prosecution model allows a prosecutor to see the case through from start to finish.
In addition to funding the special prosecution team, funding will be used to develop protocols for handling cases through every step of the criminal process, provide training for prosecutors and investigators through California’s Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor Program, and host quarterly regional meetings with law enforcement partners to improve DUI investigations and prosecutions.
Under the 2020 – 2021 Alcohol and Drug Impaired Driver Vertical Prosecution Program grant, 2,393 total DUI cases were filed by the Office of the District Attorney – 1,938 alcohol only, 321 drug only, and 134 combination drug and alcohol. The Vertical TCDA DUI prosecutor filed 112 cases, focusing on incidents of felony repeat offenders and DUI resulting in injury or death.
“The consequences of driving under the influence don’t last the duration of a class, a probation term, a stint in jail, or a prison sentence. The consequences of driving under the influence, for both the driver and victim, last forever,” said Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward. “Tulare County continues to suffer the dire consequences of this very preventable crime, and we are again grateful to the Office of Traffic Safety for awarding our office this important grant. Please, make the right decision before getting behind the wheel.”
Media inquiries can be directed to the Office of the District Attorney, County of Tulare
Public Information Officer Stuart Anderson (559) 636-5494