Monterey Park Police Department Receives Grant for Special Traffic Enforcement and Crash Prevention

On  October 23, 2014 – The Monterey Park Police Department has been awarded a $148,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) for a year-long program of special enforcement and public awareness efforts to prevent traffic related deaths and injuries. The police department will use the funding as part of the city’s ongoing commitment to keep roadways safe and improve the quality of life through both enforcement and education.

“The goal of our partnership with our community and the Office of Traffic Safety is to reduce traffic related injuries and deaths. We will do this through a program of community education and enforcement,” explained Monterey Park Police Chief Jim Smith.

After falling dramatically between 2006 and 2010, the number of persons killed and injured in traffic collisions saw slight increases in 2011 and 2012. Particularly worrisome are recent increases in pedestrian and motorcycle fatalities and the dangers of distracting technologies. This grant funding will provide opportunities to combat these and other devastating problems such as drunk and drugged driving and speeding.

“California’s roadways are still among the safest in the nation,” said OTS Director Rhonda Craft. “But to meet future mobility, safety, and sustainability objectives, we must create safer roadways for all users. The Monterey Park Police Department will be using these and other resources to reach the vision we all share – Toward zero deaths, every 1 counts.”

Activities that the grant will fund include:

• Educational presentations

• DUI saturation patrols

• Distracted driving enforcement

• Seat belt and child safety seat enforcement

• Speed, red light, and stop sign enforcement

• Warrant service operations targeting multiple DUI offenders

• Compilation of DUI “Hot Sheets,” identifying worst-of-the-worst DUI offenders

• Specialized DUI and drugged driving training such as Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST), Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE), and Drug Recognition Evaluator (DRE).

Funding for this program is from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.