LAKEPORT >> Despite a statewide trend to the contrary, Lake County continues to see an increase in alcohol and drug-related DUIs — making the extension of a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) for the prosecution of such offenses more beneficial.
On a national level, of drivers killed in crashes who test positive for any drug, 48 percent also tested positive for alcohol, according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Several data sources confirmed that Lake County’s DUI problem became worse while the state improved. With the OTS ranking the county as the second worst in the state for alcohol-involved fatal/injury collisions by daily miles traveled in 2011 and the fifth worst by average population. Which is an increase from 2009 and 2010, when the county ranked ninth and 17th, respectively.
Furthermore, the county’s age-adjusted death rate for motor vehicle crashes 21.9 per 100,000 residents, which is more than double the state rate of 7.5 for each 100,000 residents. By that variable, the county is the third worse in the state.
As for drug prevalence, “Lake County continues to have the highest drug-induced death rate in California,” the grant application states.
Of the LCDA’s drug-only DUI cases, 31 percent involve marijuana, 31 percent involve methamphetamine and 37 percent involve prescription drugs.
With 45.3 drug-induced deaths per 100,000 residents Lake County is 415 percent higher that the state’s rate of 10.9 deaths for each 100,000 residents.
The county’s history of methamphetamine and marijuana use is a contributing factor, the application states.
In 2013, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office eradicated approximately 160,000 marijuana plants from approximately 138 sites, 123 suspects were arrested and 217 firearms were seized — along with 3,300 pounds of processed marijuana. All of which are an increase from 2012’s totals of 38,000 plants from 57 sites, 62 arrested suspects, 31 seized firearms and nearly 3,000 pounds of seized processed marijuana.
The Lake County District Attorney’s Office (LCDA) originally received the grant during the 2014/15 fiscal year, which totaled nearly $229,000. This year, a total of a little more than $234,000 will be received. The extension will end Sept. 30, 2016.
On Tuesday, the Lake County Board of Supervisors approved the grant agreement as part of their consent agenda.
Funding from the grant will fund a “Vertical Prosecution” team that will work cases from arrest through sentencing, as well as aid the LCDA in handling cases throughout each step of the criminal process in both alcohol and drug-impaired driving cases.
In fatal and major injury DUI vehicle collisions, members of the team may respond to the crash scene to be part of the investigation.
The purpose of the program is to prevent impaired driving and reduce alcohol and drug-impaired traffic fatalities and injuries. In 2013 there were nine deaths and 79 injuries as a result of DUI collisions in unincorporated parts of Lake County. A total of seven deaths and 51 injuries were reported as a result of DUI collisions in 2012.
Contact J. W. Burch, IV at 900-2022.
