$60K impaired driving grant awarded to Queen Creek police

The Queen Creek Police Department has received a $60,000 state grant for enhanced DUI/impaired driving enforcement and training.

The grant from the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety will be used for personnel overtime and other employee-related expenses.

The Queen Creek Town Council approved acceptance of the grant at its Oct. 21 meeting. The grant was on the council’s consent agenda which is handled through one motion and vote.

“This funding will support additional DUI saturation patrols, participation in East Valley DUI task force operations and training activities focused on impaired driving and drug impairment recognition,” according to a council staff report. “These efforts advance the program’s goal of reducing alcohol- and drug-related traffic fatalities and injuries through enforcement, education, and public awareness.”

QCPD reports that in 2025, its vehicular crimes unit investigated 10 major injury or fatal collisions, compared with 12 in 2024.

Impairment was confirmed as a contributing factor in five of the 10 investigations last year.

“Although the overall number of major injury or fatal collision investigations declined, impairment remained a factor in half of those cases. The grant’s performance measures identify 45 impaired driving-related crashes, three serious injuries and two fatalities during calendar year 2025,” the report continued

QCPD reported a 13% increase in drug-related DUI arrests in 2025, following a 21% increase in 2024.

The grant will also support QCPD’s drug recognition expert instructor who will host an advanced roadside impaired driving enforcement course during the grant cycle, which runs through Sept. 30, 2027.

The department will also organize drug impairment training for teachers and staff in Queen Creek public and charter schools.

“Local schools have also reported concerns involving underage vaping, particularly THC products. These issues support a coordinated approach that combines impaired driving enforcement with training for officers and educational professionals,” the report stated.

Of the total $60,000 grant, $50,526 will go toward employee overtime for DUI/impaired driving enforcement and training. Other employee-related expenses related to the overtime will account for $9,474 of the grant, the report stated.

QCPD’s objectives and goals for the grant include:

•  Participate in a minimum of five DUI-saturation patrols and a minimum of five regional DUI task force operations during the grant cycle.
• Reduce impaired-driving-related crashes by 7% from 45 in the previous year to 42.
• Reduce impaired-driving-related serious injuries by 33% from three in the previous year to two.
• Reduce impaired-driving related fatalities by 50% from two the previous year to one.

As mandated by the grant, the police department must provide quarterly reports of costs and submit a final statement of accomplishments by Oct. 15, 2027.

The $60,000 is not part of the department’s current fiscal year budget, so the money will come from the town’s grant contingency fund and be reimbursed later by the state.

Janet Perez can be reached at jperez@iniusa.org. Please send your comments about this article to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.