REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
January 23, 2024
FROM
JASON ANDERSON, District Attorney
SUBJECT
Title
Grant Application to the California Office of Traffic Safety for the Alcohol and Drug Impaired Driver Vertical Prosecution Program
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Approve grant application to the California Office of Traffic Safety in the amount of $1,521,496, for the Alcohol and Drug Impaired Driver Vertical Prosecution Program, for the period of October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025.
2. Adopt Resolution authorizing the District Attorney to submit the grant application electronically by January 31, 2024, including any non-substantive grant application amendments, subject to review by County Counsel.
3. Direct the District Attorney to transmit the grant application and grant application amendments to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors within 30 days of execution.
(Presenter: Michael Fermin, Chief Assistant District Attorney, 382-3662)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies and Stakeholders.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the need for additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The District Attorney (Department) has received the Alcohol and Drug Impaired Driver Vertical Prosecution Program (Program) grant since 2012, which currently funds two Deputy District Attorneys, one District Attorney Senior Investigator, and drug testing services. The current application requests $1,521,496 to fund three Deputy District Attorney positions, one District Attorney Senior Investigator position, one leased District Attorney Senior Investigator vehicle, and drug testing services. This grant does not require a match from the Department. If awarded, the Department will return to the Board of Supervisors (Board) to accept the grant, add one new Deputy District Attorney position, and request budget adjustments, if necessary.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
This Program provides funding to manage alcohol and drug-impaired driving cases through each step of the criminal process, including prosecution. The Vertical Prosecution Team is composed of members from other law enforcement agencies, including the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, California Highway Patrol, and other city police stations. This team reviews, files, and prosecutes Driving Under the Influence (DUI) cases from beginning to end. The vertical structure of the Program allows the Deputy District Attorney to work directly with investigating law enforcement agencies to provide guidance during the investigation, initial review of the case, additional investigation (if required), filing, prosecution, and eventually sentencing of a criminal defendant. These cases range from misdemeanor DUI through felony DUI vehicular homicide.
The grant funding will allow the Department to continue participating in the Program with two Deputy District Attorneys for outreach, who will coordinate cases with law enforcement agencies, provide and participate in DUI training, and compile DUI data according to grant requirements, with an emphasis on cases involving injury and death. In the 2022-23 grant cycle, the addition of a District Attorney Senior Investigator was used to consult and offer assistance on all driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) related issues, including, but not limited to, reviewing police reports, responding to the scene of a traffic fatality; offering strategies in prosecutions and case presentations; and being able to testify as an expert in court. If funding is awarded to allow for the addition of one new Deputy District Attorney, the Department will be able to assign this new position to prosecute cases by region, allowing distribution of the heavy caseload.
The number of misdemeanors for DUI cases has steadily increased over the last several years. In 2019, the Department filed nearly 4,500 misdemeanor alcohol cases, and just over 5,600 misdemeanor alcohol cases in 2020. In addition, the Department has seen an increase in cases with multiple substances. In 2020, the Department filed just under 700 misdemeanor combination drug cases, and 902 misdemeanor combination drug cases in 2021. The number of felonies for drug combinations have also increased. In 2020, the Department filed 90 cases, and 136 cases in 2021. Of these cases, the Program attorneys prosecute the most difficult alcohol and drug-related involving special circumstances or death. Currently, there are too many specialized cases resulting in general prosecution attorneys being assigned the additional workload.
The Department is addressing the increase in misdemeanor and felony cases in several ways. Starting with the 2018-19 Program, the Department was awarded funding to offset costs of its contract with Bio-Tox Laboratories, Inc. (Bio-Tox) to test blood and urine samples for substances. On January 28, 2020 (Item No. 37), the Board approved a contract change with Bio-Tox to provide quantitative analysis for all samples instead of delaying quantitative analysis pending direction from the Department. The contract also added routine testing for more types of sedatives and opioids, including fentanyl.
In addition, the Department requested and received a District Attorney Senior Investigator position to help investigate cases in its 2022-23 grant award on September 13, 2022 (Item No. 30), and its 2023-24 grant award on September 12, 2023 (Item No. 23). The Department now requests a third attorney in its 2024-25 grant application to alleviate the workload of general prosecution attorneys. The grant does not allow for purchases of vehicles but does allow for the cost of leasing vehicles. The vehicle currently assigned to the Program Senior Investigator is provided by County Fleet Management and is part of the Department’s shared pool of vehicles assigned to the Department’s Investigators. Leasing a vehicle with this grant funding will ensure that a vehicle is always available for use by the Department’s Program Senior Investigator.
PROCUREMENT
N/A
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Jamie Ryan, Supervising Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on January 4, 2024; Finance (Kathleen Gonzalez, Administrative Analyst, 387-5412) on January 4, 2024; and County Finance and Administration (Robert Saldana, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on January 9, 2024.