PACIFIC: Speeders run higher risk of tickets during traffic emphasis week
THE NEWS TRIBUNE
Published: February 27th, 2008 01:00 AM
City of Pacific police officers have handed out at least 64 speeding tickets since Sunday as part of a weeklong emphasis on speeding and other traffic violations.

The emphasis patrol ends Saturday at midnight, according to Sgt. Jim Pickett.

“Anyone stopped will get a ticket,” he said Tuesday.

Sixty-four tickets is well beyond the normal number issued in that many days, Pickett said.

Complaints about speeding in the city led to the emphasis patrol. Pickett said speeding picked up in the city when the department was operating at only 60 percent of strength a couple of years ago. In the past year, the department has returned to full staffing, he added.

Overtime pay and encouraging officers to put off other low-level duties or investigations have allowed the department to put more officers on the streets this week, he said.

“Hopefully, Pacific will be a safer place to drive by the time we’re done,” Mayor Richard Hildreth said in an e-mail to residents. “Rather than issue tickets, we would prefer to have people slow down and drive safer on their own.”

Mike Archbold, The News Tribune