NCJ Number
208244
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 52 Issue: 11 Dated: November 2004 Pages: 92,94,96,98,99
Date Published
November 2004
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article describes winning projects in various categories of the 2004 Florida Law Enforcement Challenge.
Abstract
The Florida Law Enforcement Challenge encourages law enforcement agencies to set new goals for the reduction of traffic crashes and serves as a forum for shared experiences and the recognition of effective efforts. The Championship Class Award is a special category among a number of categories; it is composed of first-place winners from the previous year. The winning program for 2004 was designed and implemented by Troop A of the Florida Highway Patrol. It included a component of community safety education, which used a seat-belt rollover simulator at schools to demonstrate the dangers of not wearing a seat belt compared to wearing one. In the law enforcement component, troopers worked in partnership with 20 law enforcement agencies in the Florida panhandle to reduce crashes. One target for intensive enforcement efforts was U.S. Highway 98. The project, called Strike Force 98, focused on impaired drivers, speeding violations, and the enforcement of seat-belt laws. Another program component aimed to reduce the number of unrestrained children in vehicles by instructing parents in the proper installation of child safety seats. The following results led to Troop A's award: a 37-percent increase in total citations in 2003 compared to 2002, a 55-percent increase in speeding citations, a 51-percent increase in drunk-driving arrests, and a 39-percent increase in child-restraint summons. Injury crashes declined 10 percent, fatal crashes 67 percent, and drunk-driving crashes 15 percent. The efforts of winners in other award categories pertained to effective traffic enforcement performed by a municipal police agency and by a sheriff's office.