A $68,000 grant awarded to Placer County by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to fund officers to keep an eye on individuals who are on probation for felony DUI or multiple misdemeanor DUI convictions.

County officials say repeat misdemeanor DUI offenders are overrepresented in traffic crashes involving alcohol or other drugs, often with tragic results.

Supervision for these high-risk offenders will include unannounced home searches, random alcohol and drug testing and monitoring to ensure compliance with court-ordered DUI education and treatment programs.

The Intensive Probation Supervision for High-Risk Felony and Repeat DUI Offenders grant is aimed at reducing the number of people killed and injured in alcohol and other drug-related collisions in the county. In 2010, 14 were killed and 199 injured in such crashes in Placer County.

The Placer County Probation Department will also collaborate with other local law enforcement agencies to conduct DUI/driver’s license checkpoints and warrant service operations targeting individuals who fail to make court appearances after DUI arrests.