Quote:
Pennridge Regional Police Department officers working overtime ticketed 75 drivers in January.
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A $10,000 federal grant for highway safety - $2,500 during each three months of this year - pays for the Smooth Operator additional patrols designed to prevent "anything that's causing accidents out there," police Chief David Mettin said.
"It's targeting aggressive driving, speeding, tailgating," as well as other unsafe driving practices, Mettin said.
Respondents to a survey distributed last year in East and West Rockhill newsletters rated traffic issues as one of the residents' biggest policing concerns.
"We know traffic is an issue in our community and we're trying to address that," Mettin said.
Traffic enforcement details have been increased. The department's 2007 year-end report shows fewer traffic tickets and warnings were written in 2007 than in any of the previous three years, but enforcement techniques include some that do not result in tickets, such as having an empty patrol car parked beside the road or using speed boards, which show the driver's speed compared to the posted speed limit.
"It seems like all those things are working," Mettin said. "Accidents are down."
In 2007, there were 441 reported traffic accidents in the two towns, with 477 in 2006, 498 in 2005 and 499 in 2004.
There were 2,645 traffic enforcement details in 2007, with 634 traffic citations written and 747 traffic warnings. In 2006, there were 2,631 details, with 826 citations and 931 warnings. The previous year, the numbers were 2,608 traffic details, 818 tickets and 954 warnings. In 2004, there were 852 tickets and 1,017 warnings with 2,362 traffic enforcement details.
The Smooth Operator or other federally funded additional details give officers time to work exclusively on traffic enforcement for that period of time, while the increasing number of calls overall mean the officers might not otherwise have as much time to spend on traffic enforcement, Mettin said.
The 18,576 total Pennridge Regional Police Department responses in 2007 is a more than 36 percent increase in the five years of 2003 through 2007, with dispatched calls for service other than accidents increasing for the third straight year and totaling 3,852 in 2007, according to the department's 2007 report.
There were 575 crimes reported in East and West Rockhill in 2007, compared to 568 in 2006.
The 2007 statistics include 101 larcenies or thefts, 96 vandalisms, 39 driving under the influence, 31 disorderly conducts, 26 burglaries or attempted burglaries, 20 frauds, two assaults with a knife or cutting instrument, six assaults with hands or feet, nine other assaults, and one manslaughter. The manslaughter by negligence case is for a June 21 accident on Route 313 in East Rockhill. Blood tests showed driver Jason Long, 26, of Quakertown, had alcohol and marijuana in his system, police said. Passenger David Harrison Spillane, 25, of Chester Springs, was killed in the accident.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?news ... 7826&rfi=6
I not comment. But better system?
Note .. they are not relying on automation
per se.
I would like the pet trolls und Tom to comment on this. I am playing fair with hjeg2. I provide links which provide food for thought .. I hope:popcorn:
Ja.. abroad.. but we can learn from how others do things all the same..