The Guilford County Sheriff’s Office is going after criminals on both the highway and the internet with two programs recently approved by the Guilford County Board of Commissioners
At its Thursday, Aug. 6 meeting, the Board of Commissioners approved continued funding for the Sheriff’s Office DWI Task Force and also gave the Sheriff’s Office permission to apply for as much as $750,000 in federal grant funding to combat cybercrimes against individuals.
The DWI Task Force is certainly not a new operation, – and the statistics provided to commissioners indicate its members have been keeping busy.
During the first six months of 2026, the task force cited 236 people for driving while impaired and seized 20 vehicles connected with DWI offenses.
Task force members also cited 98 people for failing to wear seat belts.
The unit does more than hand out citations. According to information provided to the commissioners, task force members have made presentations to dozens of high school driver education classes and attended community events reaching more than 10,000 people during the first six months of the year.
The Governor’s Highway Safety DWI Task Force grant is designed to address traffic safety problems including impaired driving and drivers and passengers who aren’t properly restrained, with a particular emphasis on children.
The Guilford County task force consists of five positions – one sergeant, one master corporal, one DWI educator and two enforcement deputies.
The total estimated annual cost of the program is $569,849.
Guilford County is providing $427,387 of that amount, while $142,462 will come from state and federal funding.
Because the final grant award differed from the amount estimated when the county adopted its fiscal 2026-2027 budget, commissioners also approved a $14,337 increase in the project appropriation.
Of that increase, $3,634 will come from additional state and federal funds and $10,703 will be transferred from the Sheriff’s Office General Fund budget.
The grant helps pay salaries and benefits as well as for training and in-state and out-of-state travel expenses for members of the task force.
While the DWI Task Force is dealing with crimes committed on Guilford County roads, the Sheriff’s Office is also hoping to expand its ability to investigate crimes committed with computers and other technology on the internet.
Commissioners approved a request from Sheriff Danny Rogers to apply for up to $750,000 through the federal Office on Violence Against Women’s Local Law Enforcement Grants for Enforcement of Cybercrimes Program.
The grant would run for 36 months and wouldn’t require any additional county funding.
The federal program is aimed at cybercrimes committed against individuals, including those crimes using computers to harass, threaten, stalk, extort, coerce or intimidate someone or cause that person to fear for his or her safety.
It also covers the nonconsensual distribution of intimate images of adults.
The Sheriff’s Office plans to seek funding in two areas.
The first is training law enforcement officers to identify and protect victims of cybercrimes, assist victims, enforce laws covering cybercrime and use technology to investigate those offenses.
Grant money could also pay overtime costs associated with that training.
The second area is equipment.
The Sheriff’s Office could use grant funding to purchase computers, computer equipment and other technology needed to investigate cybercrimes and conduct forensic analysis of digital evidence.
The grant could also cover training, maintenance and technical updates needed to keep that equipment operational.
Unlike the DWI Task Force funding, the commissioners’ Aug. 6 action doesn’t mean the Sheriff’s Office has received the cybercrime money.
It simply authorizes the department to apply for the grant, which could provide as much as$750,000 over three years if the application is successful.
