November 13, 2025: Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office Awarded $2.2 Million OTS Grant for DUI and Vehicular Homicide Prosecution and Training

LA County DUI deaths and case filings continued to rise in 2024

LOS ANGELES - The California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) - through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration - has awarded a $2.2 million grant to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office for DUI and vehicular homicide prosecution and training.

"Cars are all too frequently deadly weapons wielded by impaired drivers, resulting in hundreds of deaths by DUI in Los Angeles County each year," Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said. "The public safety threat is dire, with injuries caused by drivers under the influence of drugs or alcohol rising every year for the last 10 years in the County. These complex cases require specialized training to successfully investigate and prosecute. We thank the California Office of Traffic Safety for their continued partnership, which gives our DUI Training and Prosecution Section (DTAPS) more resources to hold impaired drivers accountable, secure justice for victims and deter DUIs."

Overall, in 2024 the number of felony DUIs and subsequent prosecutions rose to their highest levels since 2015, the first year LADA began tracking this data. A DUI case rises to the level of a felony if there is serious bodily injury or death suffered by the victim or victims, and/or the suspect has three prior misdemeanor DUIs or a prior felony DUI.

ABOUT DTAPS

LADA's DUI Training and Prosecution Section (DTAPS) was created in 2016 to reduce alcohol and drug-related impaired driving fatalities and injuries. DTAPS is a leader in training local law enforcement and deputy district attorneys on the most up-to-date science, law and investigative techniques necessary for successful investigations and prosecutions.

The funding provided by OTS will also allow DTAPS to continue to improve training tools and resources to work with law enforcement and increase the number of officers who are certified as drug recognition experts (DREs) in Los Angeles County. DREs can articulate the effects of impairment caused by various drugs, and their testimony in DUI cases helps in the effort to deter drug-impaired driving.

As part of the grant, which runs through September 2026, OTS has agreed to fund a DRE through LADA's Bureau of Investigation. While working in DTAPS, the DRE will be made available to deputy district attorneys and investigators for impaired driving related issues.