MEMPHIS — Shelby County’s nearly $1 million in grants from the Tennessee Governor’s Highway Safety Office (GHSO) includes almost $300,000 for DUI prosecution efforts, Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich has recently announced.
The DA’s office grant of $294,217.96 covers a DUI coordinator and two assistant district attorneys for DUI prosecutions in Criminal Court.
“The more drunken drivers we can get off of our roads, the safer it will be for the entire community,” Weirich said. “This grant will help us in that effort, and we are grateful to the GHSO and to the Tennessee Department of Transportation.”
The grants are part of $17.8 million being distributed to 376 agencies to support highway traffic safety efforts throughout the state of Tennessee.
Shelby County’s total grant is $981,675.56, most of which will fund traffic safety efforts by Memphis and suburban police departments and efforts by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration provides the funding to the GHSO.
“These grants help fund a variety of enforcement, legal and education initiatives across the state,” said John Schroer, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Transportation.
He continued, “All of these efforts, from DUI prosecution to speed enforcement to child passenger safety training, support the mission of saving lives and reducing injuries on our roads through partnership with numerous public and private organizations.”
