Peters Township police embark on traffic enforcement initiative

Perception is not necessarily reality when it comes to how fast vehicles travel.
In addressing Peters Township Council about a traffic enforcement initiative by the police department, Cpl. Jay Davis gave the example of a Bunker Hill Drive resident who lodged a complaint about excessive speeding, mainly between 7 and 7:15 a.m. and again from 2:30 to 2:45 p.m. on weekdays.
“We want to be able to show people: If you’re filing a complaint, we’re taking your complaint seriously.” – Cpl. Jay Davis
“The complainant in this one was insistent that the majority of the violations were coming from high school-age students,” Davis told council members during their June 11 meeting.
In response, the department placed extra enforcement on the street, totaling nearly five hours, during the times noted.
“There were two citations issued, zero warnings issued, and the two citations that were issued were both issued to adults,” Davis said. And as far as fast cars, an Electronic Non Radar Device on the scene recorded an average speed of 25.7 miles per hour, just over the limit.
Although traffic issues sometimes aren’t as troublesome as perceived, Peters Township police are determined to investigate such matters to their fullest capability, with the goals of improving safety and developing a closer relationship between the department and community. With that, Davis said, comes a high level of transparency.
“We want to be able to show people: If you’re filing a complaint, we’re taking your complaint seriously,” he explained. “Here are the things we are doing to address that.”
With the encouragement of Chief Douglas Grimes, Davis came up with a plan that has been put into place, calling for a traffic enforcement officer for each shift who is responsible for contacting residents who make complaints.
“He’ll obtain any of the pertinent information, such as the days of the week, the times and different violations that this person is concerned about,” Davis said, noting that the officer also fills out a questionnaire “to make sure we’re obtaining all the information so that we can best address that complaint.”
From there, police can conduct a 14-day “saturated patrol” to assess the situation.
“Once a traffic enforcement officer identifies an area for enforcement, officers from the individual patrol shifts are assigned around the hours that are being identified as problem times,” Davis explained. “Officers are encouraged to involve the complainants and anyone else in the area who questions what it is we’re doing. We want to try to involve the public as much as possible.”
Davis, who is assigned as the department’s traffic enforcement coordinator, reviews questionnaires submitted and data gathered during saturated patrols:
“I complete a site survey of the area in question, and I determine if it’s properly posted with speed limit signs,” plus if other measures are merited, such as posting “children at play” signs. “I also assess if there are any road defects that are part of the problem.”
Officers are to take a “zero tolerance” approach during the special patrols.
“We’re asking them to go out and any violation they observe, they’re to act on it, and they’re expected to issue citations,” Davis said. “From my standpoint, this is important because we want to educate the public. We want them to understand that we’re encouraging our officers to speak with motorists and tell them, ‘This is why we’re here. We’re having complaints. We’re conducting these extra patrols, and the point of these extra patrols is zero tolerance.’
“We want these people to understand what it is we’re out there doing, and we want them to go out and tell other people.”