CITY OF POMONA
COUNCIL REPORT
December 1, 2025
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Anita D. Scott, City Manager
Submitted By: Michael Ellis, Chief of Police
SUBJECT: ACCEPTANCE OF SELECTIVE TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM (STEP) GRANT RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council take the following actions:
Accept the Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) Grant from the Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) in the amount of $440,000 for the period October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026.
Adopt the following resolution (Attachment No.1):
RESOLUTION NO. 2025-121 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF POMONA, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING THE FY 2025-26 OPERATING BUDGET TO INCREASE REVENUE ESTIMATES AND APPROPRIATIONS IN THE AMOUNT OF $440,000 Authorize the City Manager, to execute any and all agreements on behalf of the City, in substantially the form submitted, subject to review and approval as to form by the City Attorney.
Adopt the following DUI/CDL Checkpoint operation directives:
If Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), or any other federal agency conducting immigration enforcement, arrives at a Pomona Police checkpoint operation, it will be shut down and cancelled immediately.
Signage will include “Not an ICE Checkpoint” for vehicles approaching the checkpoint.
Concerned members of the public will be allowed to monitor the checkpoint from a designated area outside of the checkpoint work area, or any other area the public is allowed to access. Observers cannot interfere with normal checkpoint operations.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Action on this item is to accept a $440,000 grant from OTS to conduct traffic enforcement, to include CDL/DUI checkpoints, and to adopt three additional operational directives related to CDL/DUI checkpoints.
SB1439/GOVERNMENT CODE §84308 APPLICABILITY:
☐ When this box is checked, it indicates the agenda item is subject to the Levine Act SB1439 requirements. Council members are reminded to check their campaign contributions and determine whether they have received a campaign contribution of $500 or more that would require disclosure and/or recusal from discussing or acting on this agenda item. Campaign contributions of $500 or more made 1) by any person or entity who is identified in the agenda report as the applicant or proposer or 2) on behalf of the applicant or participant, including a parent, subsidiary or otherwise related business entity, or 3) by any person who has a financial interest in the agenda item requires a councilmember to comply with SB1439.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Approval of this item will amend FY 2025-26 Special Operational Budget by increasing revenue estimates (215-2014-40875-58825) and appropriations (215-2014-51039-58825) in the amount of $430,905, (215-2014-52130-58825) in the amount of $4,735, and (215-2014-52430-58825) in the amount of $4,360.
PREVIOUS RELATED ACTION:
On October 7, 2024, the City Council accepted an OTS STEP Grant in the amount of $475,000.
On February 2, 2009, the City Council Report approved recommendations from the Police Checkpoint Ad-Hoc Liaison Committee (Attachment No. 3) DISCUSSION:
The Police Department has been awarded a STEP grant from OTS in the amount of $440,000. The STEP grant agreement was received by the Police Department during the last week of October and has undergone legal review prior to being brought before Council. These funds will be used for field operations, training and acquiring equipment to reduce the number of persons killed and/or injured in vehicle collisions involving alcohol, speed, red light violations and other driver behaviors.
Research conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and its partner agencies consistently demonstrates that well-publicized and regularly conducted sobriety checkpoints yield measurable improvements in safety. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a systematic review of 15 high-quality studies found that checkpoints reduce alcohol-related fatal crashes by approximately 9 percent nationwide.
The effectiveness of these operations extends beyond the immediate removal of impaired drivers from the roadway. Their true value lies in their deterrent effect - increasing the public’s perceived risk of detection and arrest for driving under the influence. This heightened awareness discourages individuals from drinking and driving, thereby promoting responsible behavior and safer roads for all motorists.
Nationally, NHTSA identifies sobriety checkpoints as one of the most effective and cost-efficient traffic safety countermeasures available. States that routinely employ checkpoint operations report significantly lower rates of alcohol-impaired driving and related fatalities.
In California, where approximately 30 percent of all traffic fatalities involve an impaired driver, checkpoints play an especially critical role in comprehensive traffic safety efforts. Studies conducted within California have shown that communities maintaining regular checkpoint operations can experience up to a 17 percent reduction in alcohol-involved crashes among drivers aged 15–30 when enforcement and publicity are consistent.
Within the City of Pomona, recent data strongly underscores the importance of maintaining CDL/DUI checkpoint operations. Both DUI arrests and DUI-related traffic collisions have significantly increased in the FFY 2024-25 time period.
During Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2024–25, the Pomona Police Department recorded 405 DUI arrests, representing a 32 percent increase from FFY 2023–24 (307 arrests) and a 64 percent increase compared to FFY 2022–23 (247 arrests).
In FFY 2024–25, the City of Pomona experienced 211 traffic collisions involving an impaired driver, marking a 32 percent increase from FFY 2023–24 (160 collisions) and a 45 percent increase from FFY 2022–23 (145 collisions).
Of those 211 collisions in FFY 2024–25, 74 resulted in injuries, compared to 46 injury collisions in FFY 2023–24—a 61 percent increase—and 47 injury collisions in FFY 2022–23, reflecting a 57 percent increase overall in injury-related DUI crashes over the two-year period.
These figures clearly demonstrate a troubling upward trend in DUI-related activity, underscoring the critical role that such enforcement plays in deterring impaired driving and reducing crashes.
When implemented in the City of Pomona, CDL/DUI checkpoints offer the following benefits:
Removal of impaired drivers: Checkpoints provide law enforcement the opportunity to stop and screen vehicles, thereby taking impaired drivers off the roads before they cause crashes.
Deterrence through perceived risk: The visibility and publicity of checkpoints raise awareness among all motorists - including those operating Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs) - that impaired driving is likely to result in detection and enforcement. This general deterrent effect has been shown to reduce decision-making to drive under the influence.
Crash and fatality reduction: By deterring impaired driving and removing impaired drivers, checkpoints contribute directly to fewer collisions, injuries and fatalities—both nationally and within California.
Strengthening public safety and trust: Regular, well-publicized enforcement demonstrates the City’s proactive commitment to traffic safety, which can enhance community confidence in law enforcement and encourage safer driving behavior across all vehicle types - including commercial vehicles.
In light of the strong national, state, and local evidence, reinstating CDL/DUI checkpoints in the City of Pomona is a data-driven and life-saving strategy. These checkpoints not only support compliance with state and federal safety initiatives but also reaffirm the City’s ongoing commitment to protecting lives and fostering a safer community for all road users.
In 2009 the City Council approved 21 policy points on how the Pomona Police Department should conduct traffic safety checkpoints in response to concerns from the community at that time. The Police Department is proposing three additional policy points to assuage additional contemporary community concerns. These operational directives are:
If ICE, or any other federal agency conducting immigration enforcement, arrives at a Pomona Police Checkpoint operation, it will be shut down and cancelled immediately.
Signage will include “Not an ICE Checkpoint” for vehicles approaching the checkpoint.
Concerned members of the public will be allowed to monitor the checkpoint from a designated area outside of the checkpoint work area, or any other area the public is allowed to access. Observers cannot interfere with normal checkpoint operations.
The Police Department will use STEP grant funds to promote national and state campaigns such as: National Walk to School Day, National Teen Driver Safety Week, National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, National Child Passenger Safety Week and California’s Pedestrian Safety Month. Grant funds will also be used to provide ongoing training for Police Department staff in field sobriety, impaired driving, and drug recognition examinations. In addition, field operations focusing on drunk and impaired driving, speeding, red light violations, distracted driving and crosswalk pedestrian safety will be funded by this grant. The grant period begins October 1, 2025 and operates through September 30, 2026 (Attachment No. 2).
Objectives will include, but not be limited to, the following:
Conduct (14) DUI/Driver’s License Checkpoints
Conduct (39) DUI Saturation patrol operations
Conduct (20) Know Your Limit operations
Conduct (3) Motorcycle Safety DUI Saturation Patrol operations for incidents resulting from DUI drivers/motorcyclists Conduct (26) Traffic Enforcement operations
Conduct (14) pedestrian and/or bicycle enforcement operations in areas of high bicycle and pedestrian Traffic
Conduct (2) Street Racing / Sideshow enforcement operations Traffic
Conduct (21) Distracted Driver operations
Traffic
COUNCIL PRIORITIES & GOALS:
This item supports the 2021-2022 City Council Priority 1: Fiscal and Operational Responsibility – Goal B: Improve efficiency and effectiveness of City services to businesses and residents.
Prepared by:
_______________________
Maxwell Moya
Sergeant
ATTACHMENT(S):
Attachment No. 1 - Resolution No. 2025-121
Attachment No. 2 - Grant Agreement (STEP)
Attachment No. 3- City Council Report No. 09-063
Attachment No. 4 – PowerPoint Presentation
Acceptance of OTS STEP grant