The Clovis Police Department has been awarded to help the citizens of Clovis safe both on the streets and on the sidewalks.
On October 18th, Clovis PD announced that they were awarded a $73,000 Grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety. This will allow the department to get started on a police traffic services program to prevent dangerous and illegal driving behaviors that increase the risk of crashes in the community.
Every year the Office of Traffic Safety, along with other national organizations, give the opportunity for law enforcement agencies across the country to put in for grants. For Clovis, they apply specifically for roadway and traffic safety, pedestrians, etc. In order to provide eligibility for the grants, the department must submit paperwork regarding crashes reported, the size of the city and other factors that makeup what Corporal Rich Ashcraft calls the traffic functions of the city of Clovis.
Once all these are submitted, the office will award different amounts of money depending on different factors like the size of the department, population size, and the ways the law enforcement of that city will protect the roadways and pedestrians. Corporal Rich Ashcraft says that in all the years he’s been involved with the department, there hasn’t been a year where the city hasn’t been rewarded.
“I don’t know how many [departments] actually get it, but I know that the city of Clovis is…I cannot remember one in the 20 plus years that I’ve been here that we have not been awarded at least something based on the needs,” Ashcraft said. “The amount of traffic that’s traveled on our roadways, the proximity to freeways, amount of schools and all those types of things that make up their determining factors of who they give to and how much they put into trying to keep the roadways safe. I know that we’ve gotten it every year for years.”
To learn more about this grant and what the Clovis PD will use this grant for to keep the roads of Clovis safe, please visit the Clovis Police Department Facebook page.