TEXARKANA POLICE DEPARTMENT
TEXARKANA, ARKANSAS
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
12/19/07
Officer Chris Rankin
Public Information Officer
903-798-3187 (office) 903-260-0294 (pager)
903-824-4199 (cell) 903-798-3023 (fax)
The Texarkana Arkansas Police Department takes the safety of our citizens very seriously. During the holiday season we also see an increase in holiday traffic with people Christmas shopping, eating out, attending social functions, and spending time with family and friends. We also see an increase in the use of alcohol beginning just prior to Thanksgiving Day through New Years Eve. This presents a unique challenge of scheduling resources to handle the additional demands on our traffic unit.
The DWI/Community Traffic Safety Grant allows the agency the flexibility to schedule more patrol officers to target those motorists that drive impaired due to alcohol and/or drug use. Sgt. Richard Patrick, DWI Supervisor for the TAPD has increased the overtime scheduling to ensure we can put additional units on the streets over the next two weeks targeting traffic violations. With these additional officers working traffic, the beat officers are able to answer calls for service, and perform high visibility holiday patrol in business areas in order to deter theft, robbery and other criminal offenses.
Texarkana Arkansas Police participates in the statewide "Over the Limit, Under Arrest" campaign funded through the National Traffic Safety Administration and Arkansas Department of Transportation Alcohol Safety Program that is taking place over the next two weekends. This year, as with years past, the agency will have one or two DWI checkpoints to be conducted at undisclosed locations during the next two weeks. Last year we received a grant in the amount of $128,000 dollars for a mobile alcohol breath testing vehicle that allows officers to set up at different locations during a shift and test for blood alcohol levels and complete arrests on the spot.
Our Traffic Unit Supervisor will look at areas where frequent complaints of speed and alcohol violations occur, scheduling and positioning officers as appropriate. We have the department's mobile radar speed trailer deployed to monitor and record the speed of motorists looking for voluntary compliance. There is always the chance a motorcycle officer will be in the area of the speed trailer working on speed enforcement.
During the 2006 Holiday Season officers with TAPD produced the following statistics:
21 DWI arrests/ 2 from checkpoints
72 seatbelt citations
289 speed warnings and citations
5 child safety restraint violations
89 miscellaneous traffic violations
Thankfully, we did not have any DWI/Traffic related fatalities in our jurisdiction during last years holiday season, and this can be attributed to our police department's zero tolerance rule when dealing with DWI violators, as well as our public messages put out through various media outlets concerning our enforcement efforts.
The Texarkana Arkansas Police Department, through grant funding from the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department, usually has 1 or 2 additional officers on duty from Thursday to Sunday in an effort to locate drunk drivers. That number will be increased to as many as 4 additional units under this season's enforcement program. This season's traffic campaign will be an all-out traffic safety effort including all areas of traffic enforcement. Our primary areas of concern will be DWI detection, careless driving, speeding, and seatbelt offenses.
The Texarkana Arkansas Police Department encourages voluntary compliance and asks that if anyone plans to consume alcohol over the holiday season that they use a designated driver and do not get behind the wheel of a car. We would like to stress that as few as one or two drinks can impair your judgment and motor skills. As a reminder, the legal blood alcohol limit in the State of Arkansas is .08% and driving while intoxicated laws will be enforced with zero tolerance. There are specific DWI laws that allow officers to charge underage drivers with a blood alcohol level of .02%
Additionally, the use of seat belts is not only encouraged but also required while operating a vehicle by Arkansas state law. The use of a seatbelt greatly decreases your risk of injury during a vehicle collision. State law requires the use of child safety seats for those children who are under the age of 6 or under 60 lbs.
Our ultimate goal during this effort is not to generate revenue, or to write citations….In fact, we would prefer to write fewer citations and make fewer arrests. Our goal is to encourage voluntary compliance through public awareness.
The Texarkana Arkansas Police Department wishes everyone a safe and happy holiday season and we pledge to do everything possible to ensure that you arrive safely at your destination.
Thank you and you can visit the Texarkana Arkansas Police Department online at http://www.txkusa.org/arkpolice.