The holiday and party season may be over but the local police department of Santa Monica, California has no plans of dialing down its efforts to curb the number of DUI cases in the city. This month, the law enforcement agency launched new programs aimed at preventing citizens from binge drinking and engaging in other alcohol-related risky behaviors.
One of the programs initiated by the department is called "It's too easy." According to the Santa Monica Daily Press, this campaign is designed to educate adults about the dangers of buying alcoholic beverages for minors. The police department noted that through this behavior, they are contributing to the delinquency of teens. In addition, the adults' involvement in underage drinking has also been tied to the number of alcohol-related cases among minors in the city.
Aside from this campaign, the Santa Monica Police Department also launched a new mobile app called the "Safer Ride - Let's Get You Home", which was developed in partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the California Office of Traffic Safety. With this app, users who are too drunk to drive will be able to safely and easily call for a taxi with a touch of a button. It also comes with GPS support which can enable a family member or another friend to pinpoint the location of the drunk individual.
Another app rolled out by the law enforcement agency and the California Office of Traffic Safety is the Designated Driver's VIP application. This app provides a list of nearby bars and establishments that offer special discounts on food items and non-alcoholic beverages to designated drivers. This is the city's way of giving importance to the role designated drivers play in getting their friends home safely after a night of drinking.
In addition to these initiatives, the Santa Monica Police Department will still continue to implement its checkpoint operations in the city which were launched in December of last year. For Jacqueline Seabrooks, the head police department, these programs and others like them will help in preventing DUI cases in the city.
"The overarching goal of the Santa Monica Police Department is to promote the community's safety and well-being by drastically reducing the number of preventable, alcohol and drug related crashes and fatalities," the officer said in a statement.
