Crime & Safety

Douglas County Receives $8,000 Grant for New Breathalyzers

No money from the local budget will be spent on the new tools to nab drunk drivers.

Douglas County sheriff’s deputies will soon have a new tool to use against drunk drivers, and it won’t take a bite of the department’s budget.

Effective January of 2013, Georgia moved to replace the Intoxilyzer 5000, a breath alcohol testing tool, with CMI’s latest model, the Intoxilyzer 9000.

The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety recently awarded $8,000 to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Highway Enforcement Aggressive Traffic Unit for the purchase of the new instruments. No money from the local budget will be used, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

The primary reason for the switch to the upgraded instrument is due to difficulties replacing the Intoxilyzer 5000 and its necessary parts, according to a release from Georgia’s government website. The Intoxilyzer 5000 has been used in Georgia since 1995, and though reliable, has become outdated. Some parts of the machine will no longer be sold.

The upgraded models will continue efforts in combating DUIs. Police departments across Georgia have until December 2015 to purchase the new devices.


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