Clovis PD Receives Grants from California Office of Traffic Safety

Clovis Police Department. (CR File Photo)

The Community can always count on the Clovis Police Department for their safety. They recently received two grants for needed safety programs and updates on old systems.

The first award of $75,000 by the California Office of Traffic Safety is to aid Clovis’ roadways.

This grant will provide traffic safety programs that will emphasize alcohol and drug-impaired driving prevention, awareness, and education of California’s hands-free cell phone law.

It will also educate on primary causes of crashes, examples, speeding, failure to yield, improper turning; and educate traffic rights for bicyclists and pedestrians.

“These are trying times now more than ever, it is important that we are at the forefront of traffic safety,” says Clovis Police Traffic Cpl. Rich Ashcraft.

This grant will also provide officers with training and re-certification for the Standard Field Sobriety Test, Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement, and Drug Recognition Expert.

“This funding allows us to educate and enhance the safety of all residents,’ says Cpl. Ashcraft.

The second award is a $55,000 grant, to aid a streamlined process to collect and report traffic data.

“High-quality safety data is critical. It’s used to determine the nature of our road safety problems, and it informs our actions in how best to address them,” says Barbara Rooney, OTS Director.

This fund will develop a new or update an electronic crash reporting system with software that sends data straight to California Highway Patrols’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Record System and create an electronic citation system.

Both grants are a one-year for the Federal fiscal year of 2021, which begins on October 1 to September 30, 2021.

Tori Lavon is a Multimedia Journalist from Reedley, California. She received her Bachelor's in Mass Communications and Journalism with an emphasis in Broadcasting from California State University, Fresno. Currently, she is a radio intern at One Putt Broadcasting. On occasion, Tori has the opportunity to be on-air with talent. She is getting her start in media. She has a passion for reporting, photography, and videography. Tori also has a love for art; she loves to draw, paint, and does pottery on the side. One day she hopes she can be on-air talent at a radio station as well.