South San Diego County DA Promises more DUI Prosecutions
There will be a crackdown on DUI offenders according to the South Bay Divisions District Attorneys office who is assigning Cally Bright to the task. For the next two years she will be solely prosecuting persons driving under the influence, particularly those offenders who have prior DUI convictions.
The California Highway Patrol, Sheriff’s Department and Police Departments of Chula Vista, National City, Coronado and San Diego will be working together adding extra DUI checkpoints, patrols and DUI sweeps for those who have warrants for their arrest.
The state Office of Traffic Safety has issued the Chula Vista Police Department a $525,000 grant which was written by Chula Vista police Agent Rusty Rea to help make this happen. “Your typical DUI offender may have driven under the influence 75 times in a year before we catch him” Rea said
With 800-900 DUI arrests in the South Bay area annually, Chula Vista police chief Rick Emerson said that there is a need for increased law enforcement and a full time DUI prosecutor. Having its own jail and police headquarters in Chula Vista, Police Chief Emerson plans to use it, no more releasing them on their own promise to appear for repeat DUI offenders.
Another part of the grant program is for more education. Calle Bright plans to visit businesses and high schools to “shift the focus from “think before you drive” to “think before you drink” she said.
At a news conference on ResourcesFriday, Bright said that the goal is “to prosecute these cases from start to finish aggressively.”
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