October 23, 2020
| 12:09 p.m.
The Santa Barbara County Probation Department has been awarded a one-year, $160,585.00 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) to monitor high-risk, repeat DUI offenders.
“Our partnership with the Office of Traffic Safety program helps DUI offenders stay on track and meet the terms of their probation,” said Tanja Heitman, chief of the Santa Barbara County Probation Department. “With enhanced supervision and regular court involvement, there are important interventions provided with a decreased chance of re-offending.
“We are pleased to be able to continue our efforts working with high risk DUI offenders to prevent further incidents of drinking and driving.”
“Prevention is the best tool to address the significant traffic safety issue of DUI,” said OTS director Barbara Rooney. “The goal of probation programs are to help people convicted of DUI not put themselves in a position to make the same mistake again.”
Grant funding will go toward:
· Collaboration with court officials and prosecutor’s office to establish probation orders.
· Compliance with court ordered terms of probation.
· Check-ins with probationers.
· Alcohol testing.
The grant program runs Oct. 1, 2020 to Sept. 30, 2021. Funding for the program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
For more about the Probation Department, visit www.sbprobation.org.
