December 3, 2007
The Culpeper Police Department has very recently received their DMV Highway Safety grant, entitled “Ride Safe Culpeper,” in the amount of $15,000. $3,500 of those funds will purchase an additional L.I.D.A.R. unit and $350 will cover sending officers to the annual DUI conference, to receive the most advanced training in D.U.I. enforcement. The bulk of the grant funds, $11,150 will be used for putting officers on the street for extra checkpoints, saturation patrols, and, as with the Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office and Virginia State Police, participation in “Click It or Ticket,” “Safe, Smart and Sober,” and other DMV traffic safety events. One of this year’s goals is to continue building on the education and awareness achieved through our prior grants; realizing that as Culpeper’s population continues to increase, so do D.U.I., speeding and pedestrian safety issues. One of the benefits of this grant is our ability to address various areas of concern with extra patrols and checkpoints. One area that will receive extra patrols is the Virginia Avenue area. In addition to the “Ride Safe Culpeper” grant, the Culpeper Police Department applied for and was granted a mini-grant of $1,500 to enable officer’s to perform extra patrols on Virginia Avenue in a pointed effort to increase drivers’ consciousness of speed and pedestrian safety.
The Department will operate D.U.I./Sobriety checkpoints throughout the month of December.