Salinas PD receives traffic enforcement grant
A huge milestone in the Salinas Police Department’s goal to stop traffic deaths and injuries.
The department got a six figure grant they say will help make roads safer.
The grant came from the California Department of Traffic Safety. It’s worth 180,000 dollars, enough for officers to spend more time focusing on making the roads safer in Salinas.
“Some of the money is set aside for DUI patrols checkpoints,” said Sergeant Gerry Ross with the Salinas Police Department, “We’re going to do some court things.”
Just some of the ways the Salinas Police Department plans to use their 180,000 dollar grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety.
They say statewide the number of those killed on roadways has jumped nearly 17 percent since 2010 to more than 3,000 deaths in 2015. Numbers the Salinas Police hope to bring down.
“The goal of the Salinas Police Department is to have zero fatalities,” Ross said.
The department will use the grant to pay overtime to officers who used to work in a traffic unit.
“For the most part they’re going to be writing tickets to show people that they need to slow down, that they need to obey the traffic laws,” Ross said.
It’s not just drivers police are looking out for.
“We also have money set aside specifically for pedestrian enforcement and bicycle enforcement so we can go out and try to keep those people safe,” Ross said.
Though amped up traffic enforcement is a huge part of the changes set to come as a result of this grant, the Salinas Police Department says there’s much more to it than just handing out tickets.
“A big part of it is education and education to the public but also some of that money goes to sending our officers to schools where they learn how to detect drunk drivers more easily.”
The Salinas Police Department applies for this grant annually. They say the money will keep police on the special traffic enforcement programs for a full year.
