The state Office of Traffic Safety renewed a $287,610 grant to help prosecute cases of drug-impaired driving in San Diego, the City Attorney’s Office announced Monday.
The money funds a team of city lawyers that prosecutes such cases from beginning to end; trains law enforcement officers on how to recognize, evaluate and collect blood samples from suspected drug DUI offenders; and gives presentations to students at targeted high schools on driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.
“A growing number of cases involve the misuse or abuse of prescription drugs, the increasing use of synthetic drugs such as Spice, or marijuana, often in combination with other drugs or alcohol,” said City Attorney Jan Goldsmith. “These cases can be successfully prosecuted only with specialized skills and knowledge.”
Under the 2015-16 OTS grant, city lawyers prosecuted 282 drug and drug/alcohol-impaired cases, up from 150 cases the previous year. The majority of them were purely drug DUI cases, which had a 98 percent conviction rate, according to the City Attorney’s Office.
The office as a whole prosecuted more than 2,700 DUI cases in the one-year period.
— City News Service