The City of Norwalk announced today that the Public Safety Department has been awarded a $20,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) through the California Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) to battle alcohol-related crime.
“This is important to the City of Norwalk in order to increase protection for youth and to shut down problem locations that have contributed to an increase in crime,” Public Safety Director Grissel Chavez said.
The grant was awarded to the City of Norwalk Public Safety Department from ABC through the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The goal of the grant is to reduce the availability of alcohol to minors and reduce alcohol-related crime through multiple enforcement, educational, and prevention programs conducted by local law enforcement officers.
Programs funded through the grant include Minor Decoy and Shoulder Tap Decoy operations, Informed Merchants Preventing Alcohol-Related Crime Tendency (IMPACT) inspections, Licensee Education on Alcohol and Drug (LEAD) trainings and Target Responsibility for Alcohol-Connected Emergencies (TRACE) trainings.
The grants strengthen local law enforcement efforts by combining the efforts of local police officers and ABC agents. ABC agents have expertise in alcoholic beverage laws and can help communities reduce alcohol-related problems.
“The program improves the quality of life in neighborhoods,” said ABC Director Jacob Appelsmith. “We’ve seen a real difference in communities where the grant program resources have been invested.”
The funds will be used to reduce the number of alcoholic beverage sales to minors, obviously intoxicated patrons, illegal solicitations of alcohol, and other criminal activities such as the sale and possession of illegal drugs.
This project is part of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control’s Education and Teen Alcohol Enforcement Program Grant, funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. ABC is a Department of the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency.
For more information, please contact the Public Safety Department at 562-929-5732.
Norwalk, California, incorporated in 1957, ranks as Los Angeles County’s 14th largest city with 106,000 residents and 3,000 businesses. Located between downtown Los Angeles and Orange County, Norwalk is home to the County Superior Court, Registrar’s Office, Regional Library, Sheriff’s Station, Transportation Center and Cerritos College. The variety of programs the City offers youth, adults and seniors, along with the central location and eye on technology, keep the City “connected as a community.”