The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department announced Thursday it has received a $38,500 grant to fund new equipment and testing for the presence of drugs and alcohol and train toxicologists.
The new equipment will allow the sheriff’s department to better identify and determine the concentration of drugs and other chemicals in samples for driving under the influence cases, according to the Sheriff’s Information Bureau.
The sheriff’s department Forensic Toxicology program provides forensic science services to approximately 200 law enforcement agencies in Los Angeles County, including the California Highway Patrol. The sheriff’s Crime Lab processes an average of 3,000 samples for screening and identification of controlled substances in traffic safety cases annually..
The grant was awarded by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.