$6K DWI Enforcement Grants Given To Sparta, Hopatcong Police

HOPATCONG, NJ — Hopatcong and Sparta were Sussex County’s two police departments to receive grant monies from the state as part of New Jersey’s year-end DWI enforcement campaign.

The police departments each received $6,000 in funding, according to the Attorney General’s Office, given out among 106 agencies throughout the Garden State, all of the departments receiving $632,520 in total grant monies from the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety.

Hopatcong Borough Police announced more about the year-end crackdown, which is part of the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign, that began on Dec. 3 and runs through New Year’s Day.

Lt. Michael O’Shea, a spokesperson for the Hopatcong Police Department, said in a recent news release that the campaign strives to “raise awareness about the dangers of impaired driving through a combination of high-visibility enforcement and public education.”

“This is a critical law enforcement program that can save lives during a time of year when social gatherings with alcohol increase the risk of impaired driving,” O’Shea explained.

Over the past five years, O’Shea said 618 people have died in New Jersey from more than 35,000 alcohol-related crashes, with 23 percent of accidents in 2020 related to drunk driving.

On the national level, there were 10,142 deaths in 2019 from accidents where alcohol was involed, he added.

What’s the advice from the police department to those who plan to have a few drinks during the holiday season?

Drivers should:

• Ask a friend to drive them home or grab a ride by taxi or mass transit.
• Stay the night at the place where they’ve had their drinks, if at all possible.
• Reach out to local law enforcement if they see impaired or erratic drivers on the road over the holiday season.
• Always wear a seatbelt, which is the “best defense” against a drunk driver.
• Don’t travel on foot after drinking, instead take a cab or ride from a friend, having them escort the person who has had a drink to their door.
• Never let a person get behind the wheel if they’ve been drinking.

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