Police get $300,000 for yearlong DUI program

Costa Mesa police are set to begin a yearlong DUI program that will crack down on drunk drivers and educate the public to the dangers of drinking and driving, officials announced Tuesday.

Thanks to a $300,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, Costa Mesa police have funding for another year of increased DUI checkpoints, saturation patrols and sting operations.

The money will go to conducting warrant searches and stakeouts for repeat DUI offenders and stakeouts outside of local courts to see if people convicted of a DUI and prohibited from driving are in fact, following the law, official said.

The department received a similar grant last year that funded more than half a dozen DUI checkpoints.

— Joseph Serna