PASO ROBLES — The Paso Robles Police Department announced Wednesday, Dec. 2, that it was awarded a $13,600 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and will be administered by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) to battle alcohol-related harm.

“This is important to the city in order to increase protection for youth,” Cmdr. Caleb Davis said.

The grant aims to reduce alcohol availability to minors and reduce alcohol-related crime through multiple enforcement, educational, and prevention programs conducted by local law enforcement officers.

A portion of the grant funds will be used for holiday enforcement efforts. Through the grant, programs funded include Minor Decoy and Shoulder Tap Decoy operations and Informed Merchants Preventing Alcohol-Related Crime Tendency (IMPACT) inspections.

The grants strengthen local law enforcement efforts by combining the resources of local police officers and ABC agents. ABC agents have expertise in alcoholic beverage laws and can help communities reduce alcohol-related problems.

“The program helps to improve the quality of life in neighborhoods by addressing alcohol-related concerns,” said ABC Director Eric Hirata.

The funds will be used to reduce the number of alcoholic beverage sales to minors, obviously intoxicated patrons, illegal solicitations of alcohol, and other criminal activities such as the sale and possession of illegal drugs.

ABC protects communities through education, prevention, and enforcement programs designed to increase compliance with California’s alcoholic beverage laws.

ABC encourages licensees to sign up for ABC’s Licensee Education on Alcohol and Drugs (LEAD) training free of charge. Licensees and their employees can now take the training online. They can also sign-up for training in person in a classroom setting.