PBSO gets bicycle, helmet grant

Published March 4th, 2008

By John Johnston
Managing Editor

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has awarded the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office (PBSO) an $88,750 grant for the purchase of bicycles and bicycle safety helmets.

The PBSO has implemented the FDOT Bicycle Safety Education Program and is currently providing education at elementary schools and local community events. County commissioners said the PBSO has also begun citation enforcement programs for violators of the bicycle/pedestrian right of way.

The PBSO has several certified bicycle safety technicians who currently provide bicycle safety training in many of the elementary schools and through several community safety events. The distribution of these bicycles and bicycle safety helmets will be done through several of these community safety events. No county money is needed, commissioners said.

DNA Grants

In other PBSO news, several grant adjustment announcements have been made, including:

• Amending the National Institute of Justice FY 2005 forensic casework DNA backlog reduction program grant K099 for payment of salaries, to extend the ending grant period from Sept. 30, 2007 to Dec. 31, 2007. Commissioners accepted this grant for $118,830 on Dec. 5, 2006; a 20 percent match of $39,610 is being provided by the PBSO, said commissioners.
• Amending the National Institute of Justice FY 2006 forensic DNA capacity enhancement program grant K224 to extend the ending grant period from September 30, 2007, to September 30, 2008.  The objective of this program is to continue to increase the efficiency of the PBSO DNA Section through organization of crime scene stain evidence, the increase of bench space for conducting serological and DNA analysis, and to update PBSO’s electronic data capture capabilities.  The PBSO has been given an extension to allow the grant funds in both cases to be fully expended, said commissioners. 

There is no additional allocation needed, no matching funds required, and no additional county funds are required for either grant, said commissioners.

Boca Involved

The PBSO has also accepted a $35,894 FDOT grant for I-95 corridor enforcement, for the I-95 Task Force Project.

Commissioners said these funds would be used to pay the partial salary and benefits of one full-time law enforcement officer assigned to enforce traffic laws on the I-95 corridor.  This enforcement will be a combined agency effort, including participation by the Boca Raton Police Department, Boynton Beach Police Department, and the Florida Highway Patrol, said commissioners.

The PBSO said aggressive driving habits are widely understood to be a key variable in many traffic crashes.  The required match in the amount of $35,894 is being provided by the PBSO, said commissioners.