Traffic Safety  Division 

As law enforcement has evolved throughout the years we have seen an increase in the need for specialization.  Traffic safety is one of those areas where specially trained personnel are required for the many different tasks encompassed under this umbrella.

In law enforcement circles the area of traffic safety is targeted from "The Three E's."  They are education, enforcement, and engineering.  

Ptl. William "Bis" Bismarck, our Traffic Safety Officer,  speaks at various events around town especially in the high school.  This is part of our education push.  Every other year Ptl. Bismarck assembles a large event prior to prom night where a mock accident scene is set up in front of the entire junior and senior class.  It really is something to see.  Using high school students and police officers as actors, the scene is narrated.  A drunk driving accident has taken place, and the audience gets to see the aftermath.  Police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances come racing in, and it is treated as a real incident.   The event is topped off by the arrival and landing of a North Star helicopter flown in to remove the critically wounded.  When it concludes, all the students are brought inside and are addressed by a panel made up of police officers, anti-DWI groups, and inmates serving jail sentences for causing the death of another from drinking and driving.  It is all part of education.

Regarding the enforcement, radar equipped patrol cars are situated in various areas prone to speeding offenses.  Violators are stopped and ticketed for their offense.  Additionally, our agency now has a radar trailer (seen to the left) which can be set up in problem areas.  Drivers can see their speeds as they approach the trailer.  All enforcement efforts are supplemented by officers in the Patrol Division.

Finally, we have the engineering prong.  Remedying traffic problems can often be accomplished by adding additional signs, installing speed strips or speed bumps, narrowing or widening streets, and even putting down lane and street markings.  

If you have a complaint, comment, or suggestion, please email our Traffic Safety Division by clicking here.