Grand Canyon National Park Awarded State Grant

The Arizona Governor's Office of Highway Safety, along with the DUI Abatement Council, granted Grand Canyon National Park $10,000 to improve highway safety and stop impaired driving.

The grant will fund the purchase of a court-admissible breath alcohol content reading device to help the Grand Canyon National Park, and local police agencies in Northern Arizona, prosecute DUI offenders and provide state of the art equipment to share with law enforcement partners.

In 2017, 36 percent of arrests made at Grand Canyon National Park were drivers under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. The court-admissible breath alcohol content reading device will assist on working toward the goal of combating impaired driving and helping work "Towards Zero Deaths", a National Park Service and Traffic Safety Campaign.

"This grant will help Grand Canyon National Park improve the safety of Northern Arizona and the park," said Superintendent Christine Lehnertz. "This grant is greatly appreciated and is a testament to our continued partnership with the Arizona Department of Public Safety."

As part of an ongoing partnership, Arizona Department of Public Safety assists with training and instructors to host DUI-related courses at the Grand Canyon National Park. This provides the best possible training available for Rangers and other police officers working in Northern Arizona.

The court- admissible breath alcohol content reading device will be placed at the Grand Canyon National Park South Rim and will be used by both Park Rangers and local police agencies to allow for more timely breath alcohol testing. The current, older model of the court-admissible breath alcohol content reading device will be placed at the North Rim Ranger Station to provide universal access to this important piece of equipment.