Regional Crime Lab Grant
December 26, 2025 – San Diego County Sheriff’s Office officials report that the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office Regional Crime Laboratory has received $585,000 from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) to aid in its continuing efforts to combat impaired driving.
The grant will be used to fund two full-time Crime Lab Toxicology Criminalists specializing in the analysis of biological samples for the presence of alcohol and drugs, overtime for Criminalists to assist in maintaining current forensic alcohol testing operations while working to expand services offered and training on testing methods and interpretation of results.
The Crime Lab has utilized previous OTS grant funding to expand drug toxicology testing in DUI cases, purchase new equipment, as well as increase both staffing and training for the Crime Lab's Toxicology section.
December is National Impaired Driving Prevention Month. From December 12 through January 1, 2026, Sheriff's Deputies are conducting increased impaired driving patrols across San Diego County. If you are caught driving under the influence, you will go to jail.
Impaired driving does not just mean alcohol or illegal substances. It can be over-the-counter medication, prescription drugs, cannabis, and other impairing substances.
Since 2017, the average blood alcohol concentration of samples tested by the Crime Lab's Toxicology section has been above a 0.17%, more than twice the legal limit.
From January through September 2025, more than 75% of the blood samples tested for drugs had at least one drug detected. The most commonly detected drugs in DUI drivers were marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine, Xanax and fentanyl.
The Crime Lab's Toxicology section also saw a dramatic increase in requests to test for inhalant substances used by DUI drivers, drugs commonly known as NOS/ whippets/ laughing gas and dust-off.
The Sheriff's Crime Lab provides forensic science services to more than 30 law enforcement agencies in San Diego County, processing more than 7,000 traffic safety cases per year.
The grant program runs through September 2026.
Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Source & photos: San Diego County Sheriff’s Office