HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011_11_22_Kern AVOID 2012 1
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 22, 2011
CONTACT: Sergeant Allan Abney (661)326-3598 (aabney@bakersfieldpd.us)
BAKERSFIELD POLICE DEPARTMENT RECEIVES GRANT
FOR COUNTY-WIDE DUI ENFORCEMENT CAMPAIGN
The primary cause of deaths on our local streets and highways remains drunk driving and the Kern Avoid
DUI Task Force will keep up with its DUI enforcement in Kern County as a result of a recent $253,000 grant
awarded by the California Office of Traffic Safety to the Bakersfield Police Department. The Bakersfield
Police Department will administer the grant for Kern County.
“The Kern Avoid DUI Campaign is named to send the message that if you don’t drink and drive, you will
avoid getting arrested by any of the 18 participating law enforcement agencies in Kern County,” said Chief
Greg Williamson.
The grant activities will specifically target those who drink too much and get behind the wheel. Officers will
be staffing DUI/Driver License Checkpoints, multi-agency DUI Task Force deployments, and local DUI
saturation patrols for each partnering agency. Additionally, funding will target the ‘worst of the worst’
repeat DUI offenders with Warrant/Probation Sweeps and Court Sting Enforcement Operations focusing on
DUI offenders who leave court hearings and drive away on suspended licenses after being ordered not to
drive by a judge.
“The Avoid DUI Task Forces have been an essential part of the phenomenal reduction in DUI deaths on our
roadways in the last five years in California,” said Christopher J. Murphy, Director of the Office of Traffic
Safety. “Tragically, DUI deaths remain the largest sector, at over 30 percent of traffic fatalities. This grant
will help combat that, making Bakersfield and Kern County a safer place to live and work.”
DUI/Drivers License Checkpoints are a key component of the grant. These highly visible, highly publicized
events are meant to deter impaired driving, not to increase arrests. Research shows that crashes involving
alcohol drop by an average of 20 percent when well-publicized checkpoints are conducted often enough.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), checkpoints have provided the
most effective documented results of any of the DUI enforcement strategies, while yielding considerable cost
savings of $6 for every $1 spent.
Motorists can expect to see special DUI campaigns during the winter and summer holiday periods as well as
on Halloween, Super Bowl Sunday, St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo and during local special events with
identified DUI Problems. Funding for the grant comes from the California Office of Traffic Safety through
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Kern Avoid DUI
Taskforce
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Agencies participating in the Kern Avoid taskforce include:
Bakersfield Police Department
California Highway Patrol
California Department of Alcohol Beverage Control
California State University Bakersfield Police
Kern County Sheriff’s Department
Kern County Probation Department
Kern High School Police Department
Delano Police Department
Shafter Police Department
Taft Police Department
Arvin Police Department
Tehachapi Police Department
Ridgecrest Police Department
California City Police Department
McFarland Police Department
Stallion Springs Police Department
Bear Valley Police Department
Maricopa Police Department