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Sheriff’s Office gets grant for high visibility enforcement
By: Susan Tebben | The Athens Messenger
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Patrols will be watching with added vigilance for drunk drivers and speeders now that the Athens County Sheriff’s Office received a $30,000 overtime grant.
On Monday, the sheriff’s office announced that it had received a grant through the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s Office of Criminal Justice Services for a “high visibility enforcement campaign” during the October 2013 through September 2014 fiscal year.
“This puts more deputies on the roads,” Sheriff Patrick Kelly told The Messenger on Tuesday. “Through this patrol, we can decrease the number of speeders and people driving under the influence to increase the safety of the county.”
The grant also covers seat belt and child restraint violations, along with “aggressive” and “criminal-based drivers,” according to the news release issued by the sheriff’s office.
This is the second year the sheriff’s office has received the grant, allowing deputies to have a greater presence throughout the county on streets, county roads and highways.
The visibility campaign will include announced events each month, including patrol “blitzes.” One is planned during Homecoming, and an upcoming Halloween Blitz, the news release stated.
“A blitz event is one mandated by the grant with non-blitz events being additional enforcement dates assigned by our office as the grant allows,” Kelly said in the release.