For the seventh consecutive year the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant funding to help combat driving under the influence cases.
Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward announced that his office received $215,128.
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The big picture: The funding comes from the California Office of Traffic Safety Grant and will go toward Tulare County prosecuting cases of driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
- It will continue to fund a vertical prosecution team through September 2024 that primarily deals with felony DUI injury cases.
- It will also provide funding for attorney training through the statewide Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor Program and host quarterly regional meetings with other local law enforcement partners to improve DUI investigations and prosecutions.
By the numbers: Under the program from 2022 to 2023, the district attorney’s office filed 2,850 DUI cases.
- That breaks down to 2,424 alcohol only cases, 270 drug only cases and 156 combination drug and alcohol cases.
- The district attorney’s office also filed 121 cases dealing with repeat offenders and DUI resulting in injury or death.
What they’re saying: “Unfortunately, our office saw an increase in DUI case filings from last year,” said District Attorney Tim Ward in a statement. “DUI is an incredibly tragic and preventable crime, and those who live and work in Tulare County know all too well its deadly consequences. We are again grateful to the California Office of Traffic Safety for recognizing the ability of prosecutors to guide families who have been deeply affected by DUI through the criminal justice system.”
