COLUMBUS – Columbus police officials say they have new tactics for cracking down on impaired driving now that they have turned down federal grant money used to pay for Sobriety checkpoints.
Even though they are discontinuing the checkpoints, the division will use money from two federal grant programs to fund saturation patrols in areas with high concentrations of impaired drivers and to target reckless driving during normal patrols, according to a statement released by the Division of Police public information office Thursday.
The Columbus Division is committed to OVI enforcement and will continue to enforce the law involving impaired driving through saturation patrols in areas with high concentrations of impaired drivers and through every day policing. –Columbus Div. of Police statement
Since 2010, Columbus police used approximately $225,000 in federal funding to conduct checkpoints every year. While effective, division officials say the checkpoints are labor intensive, take officers from the streets and often result in overtime.
Funds from the Impaired Driving Enforcement Program uses federal grant money to fund additional saturation patrols by uniformed officers with a focus on impaired driving.
The Selective Traffic Enforcement Program funds additional uniformed officers to target reckless traffic violations, including impaired driving.