Mark Lamb, Pinal County Sheriff has issued a concern that his office had been promised $150,000 to cover the costs for a deputies DUI taskforce to work in December from the state of Arizona but the funding has not been received.
Sheriff Lamb has revealed that he was promised funding in August to cover the overtime of deputies during the holiday season, but the money has not yet been sent by the state. The Sheriff posted a video on X criticizing Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs.
— Pinal County Sheriff’s Office (@PinalCSO) December 7, 2023
Lamb expressed his concern that Pinal County roads are more dangerous due to the governor, Katie Hobbs, suspending funds for their work. He expressed it was “appalling” to him that she deemed it necessary to make such an elimination.
Sheriff Lamb is deeply affected by driving under the influence due to the death of his son, his son’s fiance, and his granddaughter in a drunk-driving accident which occurred last December in Gilbert.
Sadly, this time of year with the celebrations, can see the loss of dear ones due to drunk driving. “Do us all a favor and make sound decisions,” he implored. “Protect other families from tragedy and do not drink and drive.”
In Arizona, each year, federal funds are allocated to help pay for DUI patrols conducted during the holiday season. These monies are distributed to cover some of the overtime costs, thereby sparing agencies from using their own resources.
The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) declared an announcement in regard to the financial resources on Thursday evening.
The annual DUI Task Force which begins after Thanksgiving and continues through New Year’s has reportedly not received the necessary funding or any confirmation of funding being received for its execution. As the holiday season is halfway through, the Sheriff has made multiple attempts to find out the status of the funding but has yet to receive a response. This has been a problem not only for the agency, but for those in the valley and state who are tasked with enforcing DUI laws. A meeting is planned for the week before Christmas, but at this point that will only leave a week for the task force.
The Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) was set to allocate $150,000 to the PCSO, however, their status is listed as “decision awaiting.” No response was received from GOHS when queries were made to explain the meaning of “decision awaiting.”
The data shows that in 2020 there were 295 deaths in Arizona related to drunken driving, with another 421 fatalities in 2021. This reflected a 43% increase from 2020 to 2021 data, according to the NHTSA.
