Thurston County Sheriff's Office in line for DUI enforcement grant

The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office stands to receive $133,517.29 under a pending Washington Traffic Safety Commission grant to bolster driving under the influence enforcement.

The grant, which covers a period from October 2025 to June 2026, would help address a rise in fatal and serious injury collisions involving alcohol and drug impairment. At the state level, the safety commission pins impaired driving as the leading factor in fatal crashes, with its latest data showing it accounts for about half of all roadway deaths in Washington. 

“In the last 10 years, Thurston County has had 219 fatal crashes, and 56% of those were alcohol or drug induced. Impaired driving is a strong driver over whether or not you’re going to be killed on our roadways," said Sheriff Derek Sanders at a Thurston County Board of County Commissioners agenda setting meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 14. "The more of them that we can remove off the roadway, the better."

Sanders told the board and county officials that his department sought the same grant last year, but was eventually turned down. 

Instead, the state allocated $50,000 in overtime funds as a “consolation prize,” which deputies exhausted during the summer enforcement run. The success of that campaign, he said, influenced the commission to return with a grant this year. 

The pending interagency agreement would fund one full-time equivalent deputy assigned to driving under the influence (DUI) enforcement under the sheriff's office traffic unit.  

Sanders said the program places no pressure on the county’s General Fund or Public Safety Sales Tax, as the existing traffic team already satisfies the match clause in the state agreement. He said the new position comes at a good time to restore any potential cuts to field operations. 

The county’s traffic enforcement currently centers on the Martin Way corridor and Interstate 5, areas with the highest concentration of nightlife and serious collision incidents. 

According to Sanders, DUI detection runs thin in unincorporated county areas where vehicle counts fall, but the county’s denser corridors continue to present greater risk. He said the added deputy would also assume impaired driving collision cases, freeing standard patrol deputies for 911 response and field coverage. 

Throughout the summer term, the sheriff's office assigned two to three additional DUI units every Friday and Saturday night. Sanders said the arrangement shortened processing time for impaired driving arrests and improved patrol response to other incidents. 

Board Chair Tye Menser questioned the allocation of patrol resources between jurisdictions. Sanders explained that deputies, state troopers and municipal officers monitor each other’s radio traffic and adjust deployment as incidents escalate. He noted Washington State Patrol units often handle wrong-way drivers through downtown Olympia, while county deputies patrol outside city limits. 

The grant’s match provision drew questions from Commissioner Emily Clouse, who asked whether it imposes new spending. Sanders said the clause only mirrors existing traffic enforcement work hours rather than new funding. 

Sanders also said two additional deputies are expected to join the traffic unit next year, expanding enforcement capacity toward continuous coverage. He regarded the forthcoming position as an anchor for DUI patrol visibility across the county. 

Commissioner Rachel Grant asked how the expanded patrols impacted arrests. Sanders said he would present compiled data later, but affirmed that DUI arrests now average three to four per night under current deployment, far exceeding past levels.