October 18, 2024: Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office Awarded $1.7 Million Grant for DUI Training and Prosecution

LA County has seen a rise in impaired driving and intoxicant-related fatalities

LOS ANGELES -Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced today that the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) - through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration - has awarded a $1.7 million grant to the District Attorney's Office for DUI training and prosecution.

"The devastation caused by impaired driving reverberates through families, communities, and our justice system," District Attorney Gascón said. "With this grant, we will not only seek justice for victims but also work toward preventing future tragedies by holding offenders accountable and creating a stronger deterrent to impaired driving."

The funding will allow the DUI Training and Prosecution Section (DTAPS) to continue to improve training tools and resources to work with law enforcement and increase the number of officers who are certified as drug recognition experts (DREs) in Los Angeles County. DREs can articulate the effects of impairment caused by various drugs, and their testimony in DUI cases helps in the effort to deter drug-impaired driving.

DTAPS was created to reduce the number of impaired drivers on our roads and prevent DUI-related traffic fatalities. Since its inception in 2016, DTAPS has taken a leadership role in training local law enforcement personnel and deputy district attorneys in the investigation and prosecution of cases involving alcohol and drug-related driving under the influence cases.

As part of this grant, which runs through September 2025, OTS has agreed to partially fund a DRE through the LADA Bureau of Investigation. While working in DTAPS, the DRE will be made available to all deputy district attorneys for DUI-related issues.