March 28, 2025
DPS Receives Funding from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety to Continue Traffic Enforcement Efforts
(ATLANTA, GA) – The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) has awarded the Georgia Department of Public Safety (DPS) a Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic (H.E.A.T.) grant to continue its Nighthawks DUI Task Force, Administrative License Suspension (ALS) program, and Statewide Mobilization Patrol.
The grant is approximately $4.2 million and went into effect on October 1, 2024. It will continue through September 30, 2025. DPS is one of 26 law enforcement agencies in Georgia to receive a Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic (H.E.A.T.) grant for the federal fiscal year 2025.
“Our GSP Nighthawks DUI Task Force and ALS Program continue to deter impaired driving and make Georgia’s roadways safer for our residents and visitors. In addition to impaired driving, we enforce the traffic laws of our state through our statewide mobilization patrol. These grants from the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety support our Troopers in their efforts to remove impaired drivers from Georgia's roads and remind the motoring public of the laws we all must follow,” said Colonel William W. Hitchens, III, DPS Commissioner.
The primary goals of the H.E.A.T program are to combat crashes, injuries, and fatalities caused by impaired driving and speeding; to increase seatbelt use, and to educate the motoring public on traffic safety and the dangers of driving under the influence.
“Federal and state crash data show sustained enforcement of traffic laws reduces crashes and saves lives on our roads,” Allen Poole, Director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety said. “GOHS will continue to partner with state and local law enforcement to implement projects and initiatives designed to protect everyone using our roads and to help reach our goal of zero traffic deaths in Georgia and our nation.”
The Nighthawks DUI task force is divided into three separate units. The units are all comprised of Georgia State Patrol (GSP) Troopers who have undergone specialized training in impaired driving enforcement. The North Unit primarily focuses enforcement in Fulton, Cobb, Clayton, DeKalb, and Gwinnett counties. The Middle Unit focuses on the Macon area. The South Unit patrols the Chatham and Bulloch County areas.
The ALS program and the GSP Nighthawks DUI Task Force were created in 2004. Through the ALS program, state Troopers receive training, legal assistance, and in some cases, legal representation as they testify at ALS hearings for people charged with driving under the influence. In Georgia, under certain circumstances, the state can administratively suspend the driver’s license, and the ALS hearing is held when the motorist contests the suspension. Dee Brophy, a former prosecutor, is the ALS attorney who represents Troopers at the ALS hearings.
On March 31, 2023, the Georgia Department of Public Safety conducted a statewide enforcement pilot program utilizing Troopers from all GSP Troops and Posts. The one-day enforcement resulted in 10,653 contacts, 2,906 speeding citations, 3,290 speeding warnings, 167 DUI arrests, 775 occupant protections citations and 353 warnings.