Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Fort Bragg Police Department Will Facilitate Driving Under the Influence Events and Education

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The following is a press release issued by the Fort Bragg Police Department:


[Stock photo by Matt LaFever]

Earlier this year the Fort Bragg Police Department received a grant from the California  Highway Patrol to gather data related to driving under the influence enforcement. The grant funds come from the voter-approved Proposition 64, which required a portion of the Cannabis  Tax be set aside for law enforcement grants. Fort Bragg was awarded approximately $47,000.  The research project proposed by FBPD involves a multi-prong approach: 

1. Our Department will host multiple education events in the downtown areas during peak driving under the influence hours. These educational events will involve members of our  Department hosting a table where bar patrons can utilize a breathalyzer to determine their blood alcohol content (BAC) percentage. Patrons who can guess their BAC within 0.02% will receive a prize. Bartenders will also be invited to guess the BAC of their patrons for the chance to receive a prize. The goal of this educational event is to allow individuals to better understand the unpredictability of consuming alcohol and operating a motor vehicle. A secondary goal is to provide bartenders an opportunity to gauge their ability to ensure they are not overserving patrons. This part of the project will NOT be used for enforcement in any way. It is education only. 

2. The second part of this research project is to gather data related to whether publicized DUI  saturation events reduce incidents of drunk driving. This data will be collected by holding several DUI saturation events where multiple officers will be assigned to patrol for suspected impaired drivers. The officers involved in these events have received specialized training to better recognize suspected impaired drivers. Half of the DUI saturation events will be highly publicized with press releases, message boards along the entrances and exits to the city, and social media posts. The other half of the DUI saturation events will be unannounced. All DUI  saturation events will occur under similar conditions to look for differences in data. 

3. The funds awarded under this grant will allow our Department to send approximately 25% of our staff to advanced specialized training to better recognize, investigate, and prosecute drivers who are operating their vehicles while under the influence of drugs. 

All staff time related to these events is paid for out of the grant. The grant additionally allowed for the purchase of two changeable message signboards to be used in conjunction with the DUI  saturation events. All data captured during this project will be provided to the State and other agencies to better combat incidents of driving under the influence. 

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Our education table events for this quarter will be held near the intersection of E. Redwood  Avenue and N. Franklin Street and are scheduled for the following dates and times: 

Friday, November 3rd, 2023 from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. 
Friday, December 8th, 2023 from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. 

Our DUI saturation events for this quarter are scheduled as follows: 

  1. Friday, November 24th from 11:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. 
  2. Unannounced Date and Time 
  3. Friday, December 15th from 11:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. 
  4. Unannounced Date and Time 

For questions regarding this grant or project, please contact Captain Thomas O’Neal at 707-961- 2800 ext. 203 or toneal@fortbragg.com. 

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3 COMMENTS

  1. I am so pleased they are going to an actual bar to talk to people about drunk driving. Would probably be good to remind everyone that driving drunk with your kids in the car is child endangerment

    • Maybe there could be racing categories, like stoners, the drunks, meth heads so we could see once and for all who drives best. I’d definitely choose to ride with the stoner given the option, for safety

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MendoFever Staff
MendoFever Staff
Editor's Note: Whenever an article's byline reads "MendoFever Staff", the contents of that article were not composed by any of our reporters. Types of writing that will be attributed to "MendoFever Staff" include press releases, letters to the editor, op-eds, obituaries— essentially writing that is not produced by a reporter.

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