The Harris County Sheriff’s Office has been awarded a $125,214.16 Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic (H.E.A.T.) grant from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS).

Harris County is one of 32 law enforcement agencies across Georgia receiving a H.E.A.T. grant for Federal Fiscal Year 2027, which began October 1, 2026, and runs through September 30, 2027.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office H.E.A.T. Unit will use the funding to develop and implement strategies designed to reduce local traffic crashes caused by aggressive and dangerous driving behaviors.

The H.E.A.T. program focuses on combating crashes, injuries and fatalities caused by impaired driving and speeding, while also increasing seat belt use and educating the public about traffic safety and the dangers of DUI.

“Crash data shows enforcement and education of traffic laws are two of the most effective countermeasures to help our state and nation reduce crashes and eliminate deaths and serious injuries on our roads,” said Allen Poole, director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.

“Each life saved on our roads is one less family that will have to live with the pain of losing a loved one whose life was taken from them in a traffic crash that was preventable,” Poole added.

H.E.A.T. grants provide funding for specialized traffic enforcement units in counties throughout Georgia. According to GOHS, the program is designed to assist jurisdictions with high rates of traffic crashes, injuries and fatalities, with awards based on impaired driving and speeding data.

Harris County Sheriff Mike Jolley said the department has an obligation to work to protect motorists traveling throughout the county.

“As the Chief Law Enforcement Officer in Harris County, I have an obligation to the citizens of which I serve to do everything within my power to save lives on our highways,” Jolley said.

Jolley called the grant a collaborative traffic program with the State of Georgia and said the department considers the program successful if it can save even one life.

The funding will allow the Harris County Sheriff’s Office to continue its H.E.A.T. program, which was initiated in 2025.

As part of the program, the sheriff’s office will participate in the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over DUI campaign and the Click It or Ticket seat belt campaign.

Deputies will also conduct traffic enforcement mobilizations throughout the year in coordination with GOHS’s year-round high-visibility patrols, multi-jurisdictional road checks and sobriety checkpoints.

The grant will remain in effect through September 30, 2027, supporting the sheriff’s office’s efforts to reduce dangerous driving and improve roadway safety throughout Harris County.