Sacramento CA— Senator Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel) announced on Thursday that the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) has awarded state funding to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and the Oceanside Police Department to reduce alcohol-related crime in their jurisdictions. Both public safety agencies operate in the 36^th Senate District, which is represented by Senator Bates.
“The grants from ABC will help make our communities safer, especially in neighborhoods that have a high rate of alcohol-related crime,” said Senator Bates. “I thank ABC for awarding vital funding to two law enforcement agencies in my district that will help improve safety, build community trust, and reduce the potential for violent confrontations.”
ABC awarded $97,500 to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and $95,858 to the Oceanside Police Department via the Alcohol Policing Partnership (APP) program. Funding comes from license fees levied on the alcoholic beverage industry. Law enforcement agencies must apply for the funding and the maximum award amount is $100,000 per agency.
The mission of the APP program is to work with law enforcement agencies to eliminate the crime and public nuisance problems associated with problematic alcoholic beverage outlets, such as drunk driving, assaults, and underage drinking.
Prior to this program, most contacts between ABC, local public agencies, and community groups generally occurred on a case-by-case basis for individual retail outlets. There was no systematic, pro-active strategy to address alcohol-related problems at the point of sale on a community-wide scale.