HARTFORD POLICE DEPARTMENT PRESS ADVISORY
For Immediate Release: Thursday,
November 20, 2003
HPD Traffic Enforcement Initiative.
(Hartford) – The Hartford Police Department’s Traffic Division, under the Command of Captain Michael J. Fallon, has issued an enforcement activity report for the month of October. “The HPD Traffic Division, comprised of 5 officers assigned to traffic enforcement, and two officers detailed to the removal of abandoned cars, has stepped up it’s already enhanced enforcement efforts with shorter days bringing darkness earlier and the upcoming holiday season,” stated Captain.
In commenting on the value of proactive traffic enforcement as an effective element of maintaining order and improving the quality of life in our neighborhoods, Captain Fallon stated, “Hazardous or reckless driving, failure to stop at stop signs, speeding, illegal parking, or abandoned cars, all have a dramatically negative impact on public safety.” Fallon further noted that “routine traffic safety stops are a proven tactic in support of police investigations, finding wanted persons, and even serving outstanding arrest warrants. Motorists in the city should be on notice that hazardous, unsafe driving, or violating traffic laws will not be tolerated in the city of Hartford.”
The following are traffic enforcement statistics for the month of October 2003:
·
Infractions
Issues: 1280.
Infractions are issued primarily for hazardous driving violations, i.e.
Speeding, failure to stop at stop signs, unregistered vehicles, driving
without an operators license. Fines are mailed to the State Infractions
Bureau.
·
Summonses:
86. Summonses are issued primarily for extremely hazardous
driving violations, i.e. Reckless driving, operating a motor vehicle under
suspension, failure to have motor vehicle insurance. Summonses require an
appearance in court.
·
Written Warnings:
123. Written Warnings are issued primarily for extremely low-level
violations, i.e. seat belts, defective motor vehicle equipment. These
vehicles are sent to the State Motor Vehicle Department for inspection.
·
Arrests:
37. Violations of the criminal penal code usually resulting from a
motor vehicle stop, i.e. stolen vehicle, weapons in a motor vehicle, or
narcotics in a motor vehicle.
·
Parking Tickets:
1,567 (Issued by Traffic Officers). Citations issued for
violations of City parking rules and regulations. Fees are paid directly
to the city.
·
Parking Violation
Tows:
91. Vehicles towed from handicapped zones, bus stops/lanes and
other no parking zones.
·
Traffic Safety
Stops:
37. Traffic safety stops are a proven tactic utilized in high
incident areas to curtail a certain type of activity. A supervisor and a
team of officers set up on a street and systematically stop motorists
checking for seat belt compliance, licenses, registration and insurance
documents.
·
Warrants Served:
22. Outstanding Arrest Warrants served on persons stopped as a
result of a motor vehicle stop.
·
Abandoned Cars
Towed:
315. Unregistered and/or stripped, unsightly/hazardous vehicles
abandoned on city streets are a public safety hazard as well as a public
health nuisance. Towing abandoned cars is part of the city’s Rate
Abatement Program. The Traffic Division also tows wrecks and abandoned
cars targeted from private properties and city lots.
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