WQOW TV: Eau Claire, WI NEWS18 News, Weather, and SportsEau Claire County Sheriff's Office gets 3 state grants

Eau Claire County Sheriff's Office gets 3 state grants

Eau Claire (Eau Claire Sheriff’s Office Press Release) - The Eau Claire County Sheriff’s Office is pleased to have received funding from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Bureau of Traffic Safety, for several traffic and alcohol related grants. 

A grant in the amount of $25,000 was awarded for drunk driving enforcement. Eau Claire County Sheriff’s Office personnel will be deployed at random times in high-visibility saturation patrols focused on reducing persons killed and injured in alcohol involved crashes.  The Eau Claire County Sheriff’s Office made 212 arrests in 2007 for drunk driving, and in 2008, that number was 230.  Through 10/31/2009, drunk driving arrests for the Sheriff’s Office number 173.

An additional grant of $20,000 was awarded for combating speed and aggressive driving.  Again, Eau Claire County Sheriff’s Office personnel will be deployed in high visibility saturation patrols in areas where violation incidents and crash occurrences are historically high. Speed is the number one contributing cause to crashes and their resulting injuries.  Eau Claire County Sheriff’s Office has not experienced the decrease in crashes that other parts of the country have experienced. Through October 31, the Eau Claire Sheriff’s Office has investigated 488 crashes, a 16% increase over the prior year period.

The Sheriff’s Office also received a $15,000 grant for underage alcohol detection and enforcement. The program reintroduces the Cops-In-Shops activity. The Sheriff’s Office will seek the assistance of retail outlets where deputies will work behind the counter-in the store with retail personnel to detect attempts at illegal purchases of alcohol. The program also allows for extra patrol of rural areas where underage drinking activities have taken place and compliance checks of taverns and other retail outlets.

A portion of the funding will be used to purchase equipment for the Sheriff’s Office that otherwise could not be purchased through the normal budget process. This equipment includes 2 in-car digital video systems and 10 preliminary breath test units.