The Kingfisher County Sheriff’s Office will soon have some extra resources to help keep county roads safer.
During their Monday, August 10 meeting, Kingfisher County commissioners unanimously approved a $17,500 overtime grant from the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office. The funding will give deputies additional opportunities to focus on impaired driving and seatbelt enforcement throughout the county.
The one-year grant begins October 1 and is specifically designed to pay for enforcement outside deputies’ regular working hours. That means the Sheriff’s Office can put additional deputies on the road without taking away from normal staffing and day-to-day duties.
Deputies participating in the program will be paid actual overtime rather than receiving comp time, with eligible overtime expenses covered by the grant.
The additional enforcement will focus primarily on two areas that continue to play a major role in serious traffic crashes: impaired driving and seatbelt use.
The Oklahoma Highway Safety Office works with law enforcement agencies across the state to reduce traffic crashes, injuries and fatalities through targeted safety programs. Grants such as this one allow local departments to increase enforcement in areas where crash and traffic data show additional attention may be needed.
For Kingfisher County, the grant means more opportunities for deputies to be on the road and working specifically toward keeping drivers and passengers safe.
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