The DA’s office and STEPS emphasizes that DUI offenses in Kern County are treated as felonies, with potential prison sentences.
- The Kern County District Attorney’s Office received an $800,000+ grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety to fund a specialized DUI prosecution team.
- This year’s funding includes an additional $225,000, allowing for an extra prosecutor to handle felony DUI cases.
- Over 3,000 DUI cases were prosecuted last year, with a significant rise in drug-related DUIs, including meth, marijuana, and fentanyl.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Driving under the influence can cause major consequences. The Kern County District Attorney’s office received a grant to fund a specialized prosecution team.
The DA’s office received a grant for a little over 800,000 dollars from the California Office of Traffic Safety. This is the 13th year the DA’s office has received funding, but this year is a little different.
Supervising Deputy DA’s Office of Traffic Safety William Schlaerth says, “were getting 225,000 thousand dollars more in this grant that’s going to pay for an additional prosecutor in the OTS unit to do felony prosecutions of DUI crimes.”