The Kern County District Attorney's Office announced it was granted $256,000 from the California Office of Traffic Safety for a special team to prosecute alcohol and drug-impaired driving cases.

In addition to forming a 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.
• Host quarterly regional meetings with law enforcement partners to improve DUI investigations and prosecutions.

This is the tenth year the Kern County DA’s Office has received funding from the OTS for a DUI prosecution program. Last year, the prosecution team filed approximately 3,500 DUI cases, including 370 DUI drug cases and 114 DUI combined alcohol and drug cases.

The grant program runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30, 2021.